• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.363-372
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• 1994

In two separate experiments with crossbred bulls (Sahiwal $\times$ indigenous) the effect of access to a urea-molasses lickblock (MOL-U-MIN) on straw diets was studied. The animals were given either untreated (US) or urea treated (TS) rice straw with or without lickblock supplementation. In experiment 1, individual dry matter intake (DMI) and dry matter digestibility (DMD) were measured, while in experiment 2 in addition to the above rumen (pH, ammonia, minerals) and blood (protein, minerals and haemotological) parameters were also measured. With both experiments urea treatment did not effect DMI, but lickblock supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased DMI. The DMD values obtained in both experiments for TS were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than for US, but lickblock supplementation did not effect the DMD of either US or TS fed animals. Both urea treatment (6.97 vs 6.93) and lickblock supplementation (6.98 vs 6.92) significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the rumen pH. Urea treatment and lickblock supplementation increased the rumcn $NH_3-N$ concentration (mg/100 ml) from 8.7 to 11.9 and 9.2 to 11.4, respectively. Both US and TS diets fed with or without lickblock increased the molar ratio of Na : K in saliva. Phosphorus content in blood plasma was significantly (p < 0.01) increased due to lickblock supplementation, whereas the Fc content in blood was significantly increased (p < 0.01) by urea treatment. Haemoglobin content in blood ranged from 11.3 to 11.7 g/dl, and was not influenced by urea treatment or lickblock supplementation. Lickblock significantly reduced the number of red blood cells, but increased the mean corpuscular volume. It is concluded that feeding urea treated straw with proper mineral supplementation could be a more economical alternative to lickblock supplementation.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.905-909
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• 2010

Two sets of data on carcass traits and beef cut parameters were used to investigate the relationships between carcass and beef cut measurements, which can be used to make predictions of retail cut percentages. One set had a total of 1,141 measurements of Hanwoo cattle of three different sex origins, which were slaughtered in an abattoir located at the National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Korea from 1996 to 2008. To develop prediction models for retail cut percentage with higher accuracies than the current model, another set consisting of a total of 13,389 records of carcass and beef cut traits were collected from 30 abattoirs and butcheries in Korea from 2008 to 2009. Bulls yielded heavier and leaner carcasses than steers. High correlation coefficients were estimated between amount of body fat and percent retail cut (-0.82) as well as between back fat thickness (BF) and percent retail cut (-0.62). The amount of retail cut, however, was highly correlated with body weight before slaughter (BW, 0.95) or with cold carcass weight (CWT, 0.94). Relationships between percent retail cut and measurable beef yield traits, BF, loin eye area (LEA) or CWT varied by sex class, which must be considered for development of a prediction model with high accuracy. Models of data for all breeds and sexes fit the effects of breed, sex, and interaction of abattoir by butchers, whereas models of data for each breed and sex fit the effect of interaction of abattoir by butcher only. Due to possible future changes in back fat control, we performed a log transformation of BF. Our new models fit better than the currently used model.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

This study evaluated a sexed sperm ability to produce embryos by flow cytometer. Hanwoo bulls sperm were separated to X and Y sperm via Hoechst 33342 stained with near UV laser or performed the pre-sorted without near UV laser beam in flow cytometry. Pre-sorted sperm had significantly higher viability ($84{\pm}1.15%$, $p$<0.05) compared to other sorted groups in frozen-thawed semen. For fresh semen, pre-sorted sperm had the higher viability ($79{\pm}3%$, $p$<0.05) than those of the X and Y sperm ($44.7{\pm}1.67$ and $41.7{\pm}1.2%$) separated by differences of DNA content. On the other hand, pre-sorted and X sperm sorted according to differences in DNA content had significantly higher viabilities ($24.3{\pm}1.2$ and $25.7{\pm}0.9%$, $p$<0.05) compared to that of the sorted Y sperm ($13.7{\pm}1.2%$) in the hypoosmotic swelling test. The proportion acrosome reaction in the sorted X sperm was higher ($55.0{\pm}1.7$ and $45.0{\pm}1.5%$) than those of the sorted Y-sperm ($32.3{\pm}0.9%$, $p$<0.05). However, the sperm morphologies of the sorted groups were not significantly differences. In conclusion, the sex-sorting procedure by flow cytometry affected some characteristics of Hanwoo sperm. Further study is needed to determine the optimal procedures to enhance male and female embryos and sorting accuracy.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2012

This study evaluated a method of sorting X and Y chromosomes based on size using the forward angle light scatter related refractive index (FSC) of a flow cytometer. Hanwoo bulls sperm were separated to X and Y chromosomes by the parameters of FSC or Hoechst 33342 intensity. As a result, using monitor program linked flow cytometry during sorting processing, the purities were $97{\pm}0.57$ or $96{\pm}0.67%$ for the X-fraction and $96{\pm}0.33$ or $97{\pm}1.33%$ for the Y-fraction in the two sperm sorting methods. There were no differences in the X and Y ratios (X and Y %) between the sperm sorting methods based on FSC or DNA content. The proportions of female and male embryos used for in vitro fertilization and development were $66.03{\pm}3.31$ or $69.37{\pm}1.41%$, and $70.56{\pm}2.42$ or $56.11{\pm}3.09%$ when sperm were processed using the sex sorting method by FSC or Hoechst 33342. In conclusion, further study is needed to determine the optimum procedure and improve the nozzle to enhancing sorting accuracy or efficiency. Also, the findings of this study do not negate the possibility that the difference method of sperm sorting cannot use a UV laser beam.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.262-271
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• 2021

Communication among epididymal epithelial cells creates the best luminal condition where spermatozoa mature, transport and are stored. Vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) and cytokeratin 5 (KRT5) have been used as signal indicators for clear and basal cells of the epididymal epithelium, respectively, in mice, rats, bats, and pigs; however, these two markers have not yet been described in the epididymis of bulls. Here, we examined the presence and distribution of the B1 subunit of V-ATPase (B1-VATPase) and KRT5 in the distinct regions of adult bovine epididymides, specifically, the caput, corpus, and cauda. Immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy showed that narrow shaped-clear cells were placed in the caput and corpus regions of the bovine epididymis; however, they were absent in the cauda epididymis. In addition, B1-VATPase was highly expressed in the cauda spermatozoa; however, it was rarely detected in the caput spermatozoa. On the other hand, KRT5-positive cells, basal cells, were maintained beneath the basal lamina and they had the traditional form with a dome-shaped morphology from the caput to cauda region of the bovine epididymis. The co-expression of B1-VATPase and KRT5 was confined to basal cells placed in the basal region of the epithelium. In summary, 1) clear cells were present with region-specific localization, 2) B1-VATPase was present in the corpus and cauda spermatozoa but absent in the caput, 3) co-expressed cells with B1-VATPase and KRT5 were present in the adult bovine epididymis, and 4) B1-VATPase was not a specific marker for clear cells in the bovine epididymis. Therefore, the perfect epididymal luminal condition created by the specific expression and localization patterns of B1-VATPase might be necessary to obtain fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa in the bovine epididymis.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2021

The objective of this study was to establish a selection process for high quality sperm in bovine semen using sperm separation by magnetic activation (MACS). For this, semen from 21 Nellore bulls was collected using an artificial vagina. To guarantee the presence of pathologies in the ejaculate, animals previously declassified in four consecutive spermiogram were used. Semen was analyzed in five statuses: (1) fresh semen (fresh); (2) density gradient centrifugation (DGC), percoll column; (3) non-apoptotic fraction after separation by MACS (MAC); (4) apoptotic fraction from the separation (MACPOOR); and (5) MAC followed by DGC (MACDGC). Using a computerized analysis system (CASA), motility was measured. The sperm morphology was evaluated by phase contrast, and the supravital test was completed with eosin/nigrosin staining. For DGC, 20 × 10⁶ cells were used in a gradient of 90% and 45% percoll. MACS used 10 × 10⁶ cells with 20 μL of nanoparticles attached to annexin V, and filtered through the MiniMACS magnetic separation column. Membrane integrity was assessed with SYBR-14/IP and mitochondrial potential with JC-1 by flow cytometry. Processing sperm by MACDGC, was more effective in obtaining samples with high quality sperm, verified by the total of abnormalities in the samples: 35.04 ± 2.29%, 21.50 ± 1.47%, 17.30 ± 1.10%, 30.68 ± 1.94% and 10.50 ± 1.46%, respectively for fresh, DGC, MAC, MACPOOR, and MACDGC. The subpopulation of non-apoptotic sperm had a high number of live cells (82.65%), membrane integrity (56.60%) and mitochondrial potential (83.98%) (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that this nanotechnological method, that uses nanoparticles, is efficient in the production of high-quality semen samples for assisted reproduction procedures in cattle.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.428-436
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• 2024

Objective: This study compared five distinct sets of biological pathways and associated genes related to semen volume (VOL), number of sperm (NS), and sperm motility (MOT) in the Thai multibreed dairy population. Methods: The phenotypic data included 13,533 VOL records, 12,773 NS records, and 12,660 MOT records from 131 bulls. The genotypic data consisted of 76,519 imputed and actual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 72 animals. The SNP additive genetic variances for VOL, NS, and MOT were estimated for SNP windows of one SNP (SW1), ten SNP (SW10), 30 SNP (SW30), 50 SNP (SW50), and 100 SNP (SW100) using a single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction approach. The fixed effects in the model were contemporary group, ejaculate order, bull age, ambient temperature, and heterosis. The random effects accounted for animal additive genetic effects, permanent environment effects, and residual. The SNPs explaining at least 0.001% of the additive genetic variance in SW1, 0.01% in SW10, 0.03% in SW30, 0.05% in SW50, and 0.1% in SW100 were selected for gene identification through the NCBI database. The pathway analysis utilized genes associated with the identified SNP windows. Results: Comparison of overlapping and non-overlapping SNP windows revealed notable differences among the identified pathways and genes associated with the studied traits. Overlapping windows consistently yielded a larger number of shared biological pathways and genes than non-overlapping windows. In particular, overlapping SW30 and SW50 identified the largest number of shared pathways and genes in the Thai multibreed dairy population. Conclusion: This study yielded valuable insights into the genetic architecture of VOL, NS, and MOT. It also highlighted the importance of assessing overlapping and non-overlapping SNP windows of various sizes for their effectiveness to identify shared pathways and genes influencing multiple traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1237-1247
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictions of dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) of Vietnamese Yellow (Vang) purebred and crossbred (Vang with Red Sindhi or Brahman) bulls fed under Vietnamese conditions using two levels of solution (1 and 2) of the large ruminant nutrition system (LRNS) model. Animal information and feed chemical characterization were obtained from five studies. The initial mean body weight (BW) of the animals was 186, with standard deviation ${\pm}33.2$ kg. Animals were fed ad libitum commonly available feedstuffs, including cassava powder, corn grain, Napier grass, rice straw and bran, and minerals and vitamins, for 50 to 80 d. Adequacy of the predictions was assessed with the Model Evaluation System using the root of mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), accuracy (Cb), coefficient of determination ($r^2$), and mean bias (MB). When all treatment means were used, both levels of solution predicted DMI similarly with low precision ($r^2$ of 0.389 and 0.45 for level 1 and 2, respectively) and medium accuracy (Cb of 0.827 and 0.859, respectively). The LRNS clearly over-predicted the intake of one study. When this study was removed from the comparison, the precision and accuracy considerably increased for the level 1 solution. Metabolisable protein was limiting ADG for more than 68% of the treatment averages. Both levels differed regarding precision and accuracy. While level 1 solution had the least MB compared with level 2 (0.058 and 0.159 kg/d, respectively), the precision was greater for level 2 than level 1 (0.89 and 0.70, respectively). The accuracy (Cb) was similar between level 1 and level 2 (p = 0.8997; 0.977 and 0.871, respectively). The RMSEP indicated that both levels were on average under-or over-predicted by about 190 g/d, suggesting that even though the accuracy (Cb) was greater for level 1 compared to level 2, both levels are likely to wrongly predict ADG by the same amount. Our analyses indicated that the level 1 solution can predict DMI reasonably well for this type of animal, but it was not entirely clear if animals consumed at their voluntary intake and/or if the roughness of the diet decreased DMI. A deficit of ruminally-undegradable protein and/or a lack of microbial protein may have limited the performance of these animals. Based on these evaluations, the LRNS level 1 solution may be an alternative to predict animal performance when, under specific circumstances, the fractional degradation rates of the carbohydrate and protein fractions are not known.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.737-743
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• 2014

This experiment was conducted to compare heterogeneity for the variance in dairy cattle population and to induce homogeneity of variance using 502,228 performance test records of dairy cattle. The estimates of heritability for milk yields, fat yields and protein yields were 0.28, 0.26 and 0.24, respectively and the estimate of average breeding value by birth year was lower in HV (heterogenous variance) model than in animal model, collectively. The average breeding values of milk yields, fat yields and protein yields for 545 sire bulls applicable to the criteria of interbull MACE programme were 453.54kg, 10.75kg and 14.33kg, respectively and when the heterogeneity was adjusted they were 432.06kg, 10.15kg and 13.40kg, respectively, which were lower in all milk traits collectively. In animal model, coefficients of phenotypic correlation between dataset I and II were 0.839 in milk yields, 0.821 in fat yields, and 0.837 in protein yields, while in HV model, they were 0.841 in milk yields, 0.820 in fat yields, and 0.836 in protein yields, showing similar results in 2 models. When compared using animal model and HV model, the regression coefficient for ratio of number of daughters by calving year of milk yields increased from 15.157 to 16.105 and that of fat yields increased from =0.227 to =0.196, but that of protein yields decreased from 0.630 to 0.586.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.101-107
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• 1999

Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) which was grouped into the Lentivirinae of family Retroviridae, was known to be causing many immunodeficiency syndromes among cows. The BIV was studied worldwide during last several years for its importance in cattle industries but nothing was reported in Korea until now Thus we initially tried to study the existence of BIV in cattle around the Daegu·Kyungpook area by PCR related molecular techniques. As a prerequisite investigation for detecting Korean-type BIV, we had focused our aim into BLV infected cows because the BLV infected cows tend to show BIV infection with 5％ ranges. Hence we randomly sampled fresh bloods from 248 cows and bulls near the Daegu·Kyungpook area and collected peripheral blood monocytes (PBMC) from the sample bloods. After extracting genomic DNA from the PBMC, we subjected it to PCR and Soluthern blot analysis for BIV/BLV detection. Overall, 66.9% (81/121) of the cow PBMC samples turned out to be BLV positive by PCR and the result was reconfirmed by Southern blot analysis. The value was two times higher than the previously reported results of BLV infection in Korea. The significant difference was mainly due to 1) applying highly specific methods for BLV detection such as PCR 2) that BLV was continuously spreaded in the Daegu Kyungpook area without any notice during last ten years. We also tested the BLV positive samples with the same techniques for BIV detection. And we found some BIV positives among the lot 3C samples by PCR, which had showed 100% BLV positive.