• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.607-613
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• 1989

The validity of the hypothesis that between-breed differences of carcass composition in cattle can be reduced when compared at the same degree of maturity was assessed using carcass data of various breeds obtained from slaughter experiments in Denmark, Japan and Malaysia. All cattle were kept in intensive feeding conditions in this study. With respect to temperate data (Danish and Japanese data), although large between-breed differences were found in carcass composition in the comparison at the same slaughter weight, the differences were reduced when compared at the same degree of maturity. This result supported the above hypothesis. Kedah-Kelantan and their crosses in Malaysian data, however, had more muscle and bone contents but less fat content than temperate breeds, even if compared at the same degree of maturity. This could be attributed to the history that native Kedah-Kelantan breed has adapted itself in the direction of decreasing fat deposition which requires much energy and prevents heat evaporation, in order to survive under high temperature and high humiodity conditions in Malaysia. In spite of the same tropical breed, carcass composition of Sahiwal-Friesian was similar to that of other temperate breeds at the same degree of maturity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

Leptin is the hormone product of the obese gene and is synthesized and secreted predominantly by white adipocytes and relates to the feedback system that regulates long-term body fat weight and composition. Therefore, the leptin gene could be an excellent candidate gene controlling fat deposition, carcass traits and meat quality in beef cattle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of 3 SNPs (A1127T and C1180T in exon 2 and C3100T in exon 3) in the bovine leptin gene with carcass and meat quality traits in Korean cattle. The C1180T SNP was associated with backfat thickness (BF) and marbling score (MS) (p<0.05). Animals with the genotype CC had higher BF than animals with TT genotype and higher MS compared with CT and TT genotypes. No significant associations were observed between the C3100T SNP and any carcass and meat quality traits analyzed. The effect of the A1127T SNP was not analyzed because the TT genotype was not detected and the AT genotype showed only 1.0% frequency. These results suggest that the C1180T SNP of the leptin gene may be useful as a genetic marker for carcass and meat quality traits in Korean cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1140-1150
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• 2009

Forage diets provide good quality carcasses in sheep but very little is known in tropical goats. An experiment was designed with Creole male goats using grass-based systems to assess carcass yield, scores, cuts and composition. After weaning (84 d, 9.2 kg LW) two modes of forage feeding were compared with two replicates of each. Feeding groups were: PF for animals reared at pasture (n = 62) and IF when reared indoors (n = 60). Given that forage finishing will result in low ADG it appeared necessary to study different fattening lengths. The kids were equally divided into 4 groups: group A (n = 32), 4mo after weaning; group B (n = 32), 4mo after A; group C (n = 30), 3mo after B and group D (n = 28), 2mo after C. The animals grazed (in two sub-flocks) on irrigated tropical pastures managed in a rotational system (28 d of re-growth) at a mean stocking rate of 1,200 kg/ha/yr LW. The IF groups were reared in collective pens on a slatted floor (2 replicates of 7 or 8 kids each). They were fed the same stand of tropical grass (25% DM, 12% CP) as that of pasture that was cut daily and provided ad libitum. The ADG (-10%), the weights of omental fat (-60%) and fat in shoulder (-18%), the ultimate pH of carcass (-12%), the meat colour score (-24%), the ""parameter accounting for redness (12%) and the DM and lipid contents (-4%) were significantly lower (p<0.05) in PF than in IF, while the liver was heavier (+23%, p<0.05). Feeding conditions seemed to be similar, thus, differences could be related to gastrointestinal parasitism in the PF system and hypotheses are discussed. Increasing the fattening duration, resulted in significant difference (p<0.01) in many traits: the weights at slaughter and of carcass increased by 40% and 60% from groups A to D and consequently the weights of body compartments and carcass cuts (1.5 to 2.0 fold more). When the results were presented as percentage of empty body weight and carcass weight, these preliminary results (carcass weight 9kg and yield 53%, muscle proportion 70%) and qualitative parameters (low fat score 2/5, fat proportion 5%), seem to be a good incentive for the sector to develop a niche market to meet consumer lean meat expectations. The indoors system could be implemented where there was low availability of grazing areas or problems of dog attacks.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.941-946
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• 2008

Single-minded 1 gene (SIM1) is a homolog of Drosophila SIM1 gene which plays a key role in the midline cell lineage of the central nervous system and is implicated in the regulation of feeding behavior and obesity in the human and mouse. In this study, porcine SIM1 gene was firstly mapped to chromosome 1p13 using radiation hybrid (RH) mapping and two polymorphisms were detected at position 607 (A/G) in SIM1 intron7 and position 780 (C/T) in SIM1 exon8. The last substitution was genotyped in a 364 F2 animal-population and an association analysis of these genotypes was performed with growth, carcass and meat quality traits by the statistical animal model. The results showed the significant influence of the SIM1 genotype on growth (p<0.05): live weight at birth, later period of growth and average daily gain; and effects on carcass composition (p<0.05): weight of head and buck kneed foreleg, backfat depth, loin eye area, carcass leaf fat and ham fat weights; and traits related to intramuscular fat content (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1988

Ninety feeder steers, predominantly Herefords weighing 280 kg, were assigned at random to each of nine diets: basal (high concentrate); 25 or 50% of untreated rice straw (25- or 50 URS) or ammoniated rice straw (25- or 50 ARS); a 50:50 mixture of URS - alfalfa or ARS - alfalfa replacing a proportion of the basal at 25 and 50%. Animals were slaughtered after 154 or 161 days of feeding. The cattle fed 50% URS had the lowest (P<.05) carcass weight, dressing & external fat thickness, kidney, pelvic and heart fat, rib eye area, marbling score, quality and yield grades, followed by cattle fed 50% ARS, 50% rice straw/alfalfa, and 25% rice straw alone or 25% rice straw/alfalfa mixture. Ammoniation of rice straw improved all measured traits. A 25% substitution of basal diet with untreated or ammoniated rice straw and a 50% substitution with rice straw/alfalfa mixture did not significantly affect carcass traits compared to the basal group. Only 50% ARS and 50% URS cattle showed differences in body composition (P<.05) with lower fat and higher water and protein contents. No significant differences were found in shear value, panel tenderness, connective tissue, juiciness, flavor and overall palatability of meat from steers fed the basal, ARS or URS diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.640-647
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• 2008

Breed differences in adult animals are determined during fetal development. If interventions are to be developed that influence growth of muscle and fat, it is important to know at which time during gestation breed differences appear and are fixed. The objective of this study was to characterize fetal development in cattle of different breeds. Pregnant cows of 4 cattle breeds with different growth impetus and muscularity were slaughtered under normal processing conditions and the fetuses were removed. German Angus, a typical beef cattle; Galloway, a smaller, environmentally resistant beef type; Holstein Friesian, a dairy type; and Belgian Blue, an extreme type for muscle growth were used. Fetuses of each breed were investigated at 3, 6, and 9 mo of gestation. Fetuses were weighed and dissected into carcass, organs, and muscles. Body fat weight was obtained using the Soxhlet extraction method. Fetal weight increased most rapidly in the third trimester of gestation mainly due to the accelerated muscle and fat deposition. The organ weight to body weight (BW) ratios decreased and the muscle and fat weight to BW ratios increased. At 3 mo of gestation, Galloway fetuses had the significantly smallest BW, half-carcass weight, leg weight, organ weight, muscle weight and shortest leg length. In contrast, Holstein fetuses had the significantly greatest BW, liver, kidney, and lung weights and significantly longest leg length among the 4 breeds, but no differences between Holstein Friesian and Belgian Blue were detected in half-carcass and leg weight. Indeed, Belgian Blue fetuses had the significantly greatest half-carcass weight, leg weight, and muscle weight at 9 mo of gestation, and Galloway had a significantly greater body fat to BW ratio than Holstein Friesian and Belgian Blue. These differences were not evident at 3 and 6 mo of gestation. These data show that the profound increase of tissue and organ weights occurred in later gestation in cattle fetuses even though breed differences were evident as early as 3 mo of gestation. Depending on the tissue of interest, impacting fetal growth likely needs to occur early in gestation before the appearance of breed-specific differences.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.401-410
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• 1993

Day-old male and female broilers obtained from commercial strain (Hubbard) were used in this study. At 7 days of age, all chicks were weighed individually (female 0.11 kg and male 0.12 kg in average) and divided into 5 group of 45 birds each group with no replicate in each treatment group as follows: 1. fed ad libitum; 2. fed 75% ad libitum; 3. fed 65% ad libitum; 4. fed 55% ad libitum; 5. fed 45% ad libitum. Chicks were restricted for 10 days (d 7 through 17) of a 56-day trial. Chicks were fed a commercial starter diet (crude protein (CP) 23.8% and metabolizable energy (ME) 3,070 kcal/kg) for 21 days, and commercial finisher diet (CP 20% and ME 3,160 kcal/kg) from 22 to 56 days of age. When chicks were feed-restricted at an early age, compensatory growth did not immediately occur following refeeding. Body weights of restricted chicks were not equal to the ad libitum chicks before 49 days of age. At 56 dyas of age, body weights of restricted chicks were heavier (p<0.01). Abdominal fat values of female chicks fed ad libitum was not significantly different from those fed 45% to 75% ad libitum. Carcass fat values of restricted female chicks were lower than those of control chicks when female chicks were fed either 55% or 45% ad libitum. Furthermore, feed efficiencies of restricted chicks were better. The response of chicks to early feed restriction might depend on the degree of feed restriction, and sex. Factors contributing carcass fat included energy loss, fat protein ratio of carcass, fatty acid synthesis in the liver and triglyceride content of the liver. The heavier body weights in the restricted chicks might be correlated with the lower growth rate during period of feed restriction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1489-1495
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• 2002

Five regions and 258 pigs were selected for this study: North (Beijing), Central (Wuhan), South (Guangzhou), Southwest (Chongqing), Northeast (Harbin). Five typical genetics of growing-finishing pig were selected: Landrace${\times}$Large White${\times}$Beijing Black, Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Large White, Duroc${\times}$Large White${\times}$Landrace, Landrace${\times}$Rongchang, Landrace${\times}$Harbin White, respectively at each sites. The basal diet was a corn-soybean meal containing sufficient nutrients to meet requirements. Carcass fat-free lean gain was determined by dissecting and analyzing chemical composition of the carcass. Cubic function fitted lean moistures to live weights better than other functions. Exponential function fitted lean lipids to live weights equally to allometric function. Carcass fat-free lean gain of Duroc${\times}$Large White${\times}$Landrace, Landrace${\times}$Large White${\times}$Beijing Black, Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Large White, Landrace${\times}$Harbin White, Landrace${\times}$Rongchang from 20 to 100 kg of average body weight was 259 g/d, 261 g/d, 311 g/d, 220 g/d, 200 g/d, respectively. All are lower than intermediate fat-free lean gain in NRC (1998).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.418-424
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• 2006

This experiment was conducted to explore the efficacy of lacquer (Rhus verniciflua) supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and serum biochemical values in commercial broilers. Eight hundred and forty Hubbard broiler chicks (1d old) were randomly distributed and allotted to four dietary treatments for five weeks. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 42 birds each. The dietary treatments were (1) control (2) 1% lacquer, (3) 2% lacquer and 4) 4% lacquer supplied as meal in the diet. Supplementation with lacquer improved weight gain (p = 0.0960) showing a linear trend during the starter phase (0-3 wk), but weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio remained unaffected at the finisher phase (4-5 wk) and overall (0-5 wk). The nutrient digestibility studies conducted after 18 and 35 days of experimental feeding showed a linear (p<0.05) increase in digestibility of CP and ether extract at both measurement timess. The carcass studies were conducted on two birds per replicate (10 per treatment) at the end of both 3 and 5 wk. The dressing percentage, liver weight, heart weight, abdominal fat and the breast meat expressed as a percentage of live weight, did not differ significantly due to treatments at both phases. The serum cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) showed a linear decrease (p = 0.0683 and p = 0.0322, respectively) as the level of supplementation increased at 3 wk; at 5 wk serum cholesterol, HDL and triglyceride levels decreased significantly showing a positive linear effect of lacquer on fat metabolism. The meat color values such as lightness, redness and yellowness did not reveal any significant trend. Overall, it could be concluded that lacquer supplementation at higher levels did not affect growth performance, but had a positive impact on fat metabolism by influencing fat digestibility and reducing serum cholesterol and triglyceride.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.796-802
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• 2009

The effects of docking on growth traits, fattening performance, carcass characteristics and blood biochemical parameters were investigated using 24 fat-tailed Sanjabi single-born male lambs raised from a large commercial sheep herd. The lambs were randomly divided into two groups. One group (n = 12) were docked at two days of age with rubber-rings using an elastrator. The second group (n = 12) were left intact. After weaning (90 days), all lambs were moved to rustic rangelands for 40 days. Then all the lambs were fed concentrates ad libitum for 60 days during the fattening period. Growth traits, body weight and average daily gain (kg) were recorded at the end of the weaning and fattening periods. Blood biochemical parameters including urea, total protein, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) were measured during the fattening period. Finally, at the end of the fattening period, eight lambs (4 intact and 4 docked lambs) were slaughtered in order to determine carcass characteristics. Fat-tail docking had no effect (p>0.05) on lamb growth from birth to weaning. Body weight and average daily gain of docked lambs were significantly higher (p<0.05) than for intact lambs at the end of the fattening period. There was no difference in carcass measurements between the two groups, except for chest depth and leg weight which were higher (p<0.05) in docked lambs. During the fattening period, cholesterol and LDL of docked lambs were less than in intact lambs (p<0.05). The current results indicated that docking with rubber rings causes an improvement in growth traits during the fattening period and leads to desirable carcass characteristics compared to intact lambs; interestingly, this procedure had a significant effect on the lowering of blood cholesterol and LDL of docked lambs.