• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 1970

The present paper deals with the results of the experiments, in which the resistibility to NaCl in whole develomental stages is examined by the emergence rate and the effects of NaCl on the SD action in Drosophila melanogaster. The four SD strains and one mutant strain(cn bw)are used and NaCl media are prepared y adding NaCl at a concentration of 1.0M, 0.7M, 0.5M, 0.3M, 0.1M, and 0.0M to the standard media for the present investigations. The results are given below. 1. The emergence rate (resistibility to NaCl) is not significantly different among strains but strikingly different among concentrations of NaCl. 2. The emergence rate decreases as the concentration of NaCl increases; the four SD strains are considerably resistible to the NaCl from a concentration of 0.0M to 0.3M but are susceptible from 0.5M or higher concentrations of NaCl. 3. No eggs are hatched from the culture media containing a concentration of 1.0M NaCl. This suggests that the SD strains are not resistible to NaCl at a concentrations of 1.0M or higher. 4. The difference in k values is not signficant among strains and also among concentrations of NaCl. Thus the SD action is not affected as far as once emerged from the culture media whether containing NaCl or not.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.1709-1717
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• 2023

Objective: A pivotal study was designed to investigate the effect of Hydroxy (HYC) Cu, Zn, and Mn on egg quality and laying performance of chickens under tropical conditions. Methods: A total of 1,260 Babcock White laying hens (20-wk-old) were randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments with 15 replicates of 21 hens each in a Randomized Complete Block Design. The birds were reared for 16 weeks and were fed the corn-soybean meal diets supplemented with one of the following mineral treatments: T1, inorganic (INO, 15 ppm CuSO4, 80ppm MnSO4 and 80 ppm ZnO); T2, Hydroxy-nutritional level (HYC-Nut, 15 ppm Cu, 80 ppm Mn, 80 ppm Zn from Hydroxy); T3, Hydroxy-Low (HYC-Low, 15 ppm Cu, 60 ppm Mn, 60 ppm Zn from Hydroxy); T4, Hydroxy plus inorganic (HYC+INO, 7.5 ppm HYC Cu+7.5 ppm CuSO4, 40 ppm HYC ZnO+40 ppm ZnSO4, 40 ppm HYC Mn+40 ppm MnSO4). The egg production was recorded daily, while the feed consumption, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and egg mass were determined at the end of each laying period. The egg quality parameters were assayed in eggs collected over 48 h in each laying period. Results: Overall, no significant effect of treatments was observed on percent egg production, egg weight and FCR (p>0.05). Feed intake was significantly lower in birds fed Hydroxy plus inorganic (p<0.05) diet. The supplementation of HYC-Low significantly increased the egg mass compared to the other treatments (p<0.05). HYC supplementation alone or in combination with INO elicited a positive effect on shell thickness, shell weight, shell weight per unit surface area, yolk colour, albumen and yolk index for a certain period (p<0.05), but not throughout the whole laying period. Conclusion: Dietary supplementation of HYC-Low (15-60-60 mg/kg) showed similar effects on production performance and egg quality characteristics in laying hens as compared to 15-80-80 mg/kg of Cu-Zn-Mn from inorganic sources. This indicates that sulphate based inorganic trace minerals can effectively be substituted by lower concentration of hydroxyl minerals.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.119-124
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• 2023

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary levels of the metabolic energy (ME) on performance, egg quality, and hatchability of Woorimatdag breeder hens during late laying period. A total of eighty Woorimatdag breeder hens were individually housed in cages from 48 to 64 weeks of age. The hens were assigned to two groups with different dietary ME levels: 2,500 kcal/kg and 2,700 kcal/kg. Each group consisted of four replicates of ten birds. The results indicated that the dietary ME levels did not have a significant effect on the body weight and feed intake of the breeder hens. The egg production was significantly (P<0.05) higher in breeder hens fed 2,500 kcal/kg ME than in those fed 2,700 kcal/kg ME from 48 to 52 weeks of age. However, the egg production was shown to be similar values in both groups from 52 to 64 weeks of age. No significant differences were observed between groups with respect to egg weight, eggshell thickness, and eggshell strength of breeder's eggs. There was no difference in the fertility and hatchability between dietary groups. In conclusion, 2,500 kcal/kg of dietary ME could be considered to meet Woorimatdag breeder hens requirement sufficiently during late laying period.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.160-170
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• 2023

Life history of the endangered endemic species, Rhynchocypris semotilus, was investigated to obtain baseline data for its ecological characteristics in Songhyeoncheon, Hyeonnae-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea from April to October, 2022. A total of 10 families and 18 species of fishes were collected from 4 survey stations, and R. semotilus was a subdominant species in the survey period (seven times). The main habitat of R. semotilus was the middle-upper stream of rock and boulder bottoms with aquatic plants and slow rapids and pools. The age groups for R. semotilus estimated by the frequency distribution of total length in spawning season (May) indicated the 4~12 mm is 0-year old, 32~49 mm is 1-year old, the 50~65 mm group is 2-years old, the 66~91 mm is 3-years old, and the 92~116 mm is more than 4-years old, and showed rapid growth from May to September. Total length range of female and male were the relatively similar, and sex ratio (♂/♀) was 0.78. The spawning period is from May to July (water temperature is 17 to 21℃), and gonad was developed more than three years old (more than TL 66 mm). In May, the gonadosomatic index (GSI) was 10.6±2.99% for females and 8.2±2.34% for males, fecundity was 6,830±1,943, and mature eggs size was 1.34±0.16 mm. Finally, life history characteristics of R. semotilus was discussed between the genus Rhynchocypris and Phoxinus species.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.298-307
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• 2023

The annual reproductive cycle of two species, Upogebia major (de Haan 1841) and Austinogebia wuhsienweni (Yu 1931), of the female mud shrimp from the west coast of Korea was investigated using histology. The collected samples were divided into adult and juvenile groups to understand the mature period of age class based on the carapace length(CL). Juvenile Upogebia(CL<25mm) were mostly inactive gonad with early (62%-100%) and late (10%-38%) development stages during the year, whereas the adult shrimp showed a seasonal pattern of gonad maturation(CL≥25 mm). The early and late developmental stages of oocytes were observed in adult Upogebia from November to March and mature eggs appeared from April to October. In adult Ausitnogebia (CL≥15 mm), fully grown oocytes were consistently observed during the study period, in which the ripe stage was found between January and June. On the other hand, most juvenile Austinogebia (CL<15 mm) maintained an immature state in the gonad. Both species of the mud shrimp reproduced from ovigerous females in the adult population and their egg-bearing period was distinguished from January to April for U. major and from July to September for A. wuhsienweni.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.1040-1052
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• 2023

The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects of functional nutrients including various functional amino acids, vitamins, and minerals on chicken intestinal epithelial cells (cIECs) treated with oxidative stress. The cIECs were isolated from specific pathogen free eggs. Cells were exposed to 0 mM supplement (control), 20 mM threonine (Thr), 0.4 mM tryptophan (Trp), 1 mM glycine (Gly), 10 μM vitamin C (VC), 40 μM vitamin E (VE), 5 μM vitamin A (VA), 34 μM chromium (Cr), 0.42 μM selenium (Se), and 50 μM zinc (Zn) for 24 h with 6 replicates for each treatment. After 24 h, cells were further incubated with fresh culture medium (positive control, PC) or 1 mM H₂O₂ with different supplements (negative control, NC and each treatment). Oxidative stress was measured by cell proliferation, whereas tight junction barrier function was analyzed by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran permeability and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Results indicated that cell viability and TEER values were less (p < 0.05) in NC treatments with oxidative stress than in PC treatments. In addition, FITC-dextran values were greater (p < 0.05) in NC treatments with oxidative stress than in PC treatments. The supplementations of Thr, Trp, Gly, VC, and VE in cells treated with H₂O₂ showed greater (p < 0.05) cell viability than the supplementation of VA, Cr, Se, and Zn. The supplementations of Trp, Gly, VC, and Se in cells treated with H₂O₂ showed the least (p < 0.05) cellular permeability. In addition, the supplementation of Thr, VE, VA, Cr, and Zn in cells treated with H₂O₂ decreased (p < 0.05) cellular permeability. At 48 h, the supplementations of Thr, Trp, and Gly in cells treated with H₂O₂ showed the greatest (p < 0.05) TEER values among all treatments, and the supplementations of VC and VE in cells treated with H₂O₂ showed greater (p < 0.05) TEER values than the supplementations of VA, Cr, Se, and Zn in cells treated with H₂O₂. In conclusion, Thr, Trp, Gly, and VC supplements were effective in improving cell viability and intestinal barrier function of cIECs exposed to oxidative stress.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.689-696
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• 2024

Objective: Our study examined the impact of propriety blends of Bacillus strain probiotics on the performance, egg quality, and faecal microflora of laying hens. Methods: A total of 183 Institut de selection Animale (ISA) brown laying hens aged 23 weeks with an average body weight of 1,894±72 g were randomly allocated into 3 groups as control (corn-soybean meal based diet, CON), 0.5 g/kg Enterosure probiotics (ET1, 3×10⁸ colony-forming unit [CFU]/kg feed), and 5 g/kg Enterosure probiotics (ET2, 3×10⁹ CFU/kg feed) administered in mashed form. At the completion of each phase hen day egg production (HDEP), average egg weight (AEW), feed intake, and faecal microbiota were evaluated. Results: HDEP and AEW were higher (p<0.05) in the ET2-supplemented diet in phase 3 (week 9 to 12) compared with CON. Egg mass (EM) was higher (p<0.05) in phase 2 at ET2, and also higher (p<0.05) in phase 3 at the ET1 and ET2-supplemented diets compared with CON. Feed conversion ratio was lower (p<0.05) in phase 3 at the ET1 and ET2-supplemented diets, with ET2 being the lowest compared with ET1 and CON. Yolk colour was higher (p<0.05) in the ET-supplemented diets at phase 3 compared with CON. Bifidobacterium spp. was higher (p<0.05) in the ET2- supplemented diet compared with CON in phase 2, while in In phase 3, Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. were higher (p<0.05) in the ET-supplemented diets compared with CON. Coliforms were lower (p<0.05) in the ET-supplemented diets compared with CON in phase 3. Conclusion: The propriety blends of Bacillus strain probiotics supplements at 0.5 g/kg and 5 g/kg could improve the production and quality of eggs with more significance at 5 g/kg for HDEP, AEW and EM, which was achieved via the increase of beneficial microbiomes such as Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., and the decrease of pathogenic microbiomes like Escherichia coli and Coliforms which was speculated to improve gut barrier function and the reproductive hormone.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.500-508
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• 2024

Objective: Due to current selection practices for increased egg production and peak persistency, the production profile, age at maturity, and body weight criteria for commercial layers are constantly changing. Body weight and age at the time of photostimulation will thus always be the factors that need to be adequately addressed among various production systems. The current study was carried out to determine the effects of pullets' body weight (low, medium, and heavy) on their performance, welfare, physiological response, and hormonal profile. Methods: With regard to live weight, 150 16-week-old pullets were divided into three groups using a completely randomized design (CRD) and held until the 50th week. One-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate the data under the CRD, and the least significant difference test was used to distinguish between treatment means. Results: In comparison to the medium and light birds, the heavy birds had higher body weight at maturity, an earlier age at maturity, and higher egg weight, eggshell weight, eggshell thickness, egg yolk index, breaking strength, egg surface area, egg shape index, egg volume, and hormonal profile except corticosterone. However, the medium and light birds had lower feed consumption rates per dozen eggs and per kilogram of egg mass than the heavy birds. Light birds showed greater body weight gain, egg production, and egg specific gravity than the other categories. At 20 weeks of age, physiological response, welfare aspects, and catalase were non-significant; however, at 50 weeks of age, all these factors-aside from catalase-were extremely significant. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that layers can function at lower body weights during photostimulation; hence, dietary regimens that result in lighter pullets may be preferable. Additionally, the welfare of the birds was not compromised by the lighter weight group.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1021-1030
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• 2024

Objective: R-loops are DNA:RNA triplex hybrids, and their metabolism is tightly regulated by transcriptional regulation, DNA damage response, and chromatin structure dynamics. R-loop homeostasis is dynamically regulated and closely associated with gene transcription in mouse zygotes. However, the factors responsible for regulating these dynamic changes in the R-loops of fertilized mouse eggs have not yet been investigated. This study examined the functions of candidate factors that interact with R-loops during zygotic gene activation. Methods: In this study, we used publicly available next-generation sequencing datasets, including low-input ribosome profiling analysis and polymerase II chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq), to identify potential regulators of R-loop dynamics in zygotes. These datasets were downloaded, reanalyzed, and compared with mass spectrometry data to identify candidate factors involved in regulating R-loop dynamics. To validate the functions of these candidate factors, we treated mouse zygotes with chemical inhibitors using in vitro fertilization. Immunofluorescence with an anti-R-loop antibody was then performed to quantify changes in R-loop metabolism. Results: We identified DEAD-box-5 (DDX5) and histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2) as candidates that potentially regulate R-loop metabolism in oocytes, zygotes and two-cell embryos based on change of their gene translation. Our analysis revealed that the DDX5 inhibition of activity led to decreased R-loop accumulation in pronuclei, indicating its involvement in regulating R-loop dynamics. However, the inhibition of histone deacetylase-2 activity did not significantly affect R-loop levels in pronuclei. Conclusion: These findings suggest that dynamic changes in R-loops during mouse zygote development are likely regulated by RNA helicases, particularly DDX5, in conjunction with transcriptional processes. Our study provides compelling evidence for the involvement of these factors in regulating R-loop dynamics during early embryonic development.