• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.23.1-23.7
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• 2014

Background: Scanning of the genome for selection signatures between breeds may play important role in understanding the underlie causes for observable phenotypic variations. The discovery of high density single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide a useful starting point to perform genome-wide scan in pig populations in order to identify loci/candidate genes underlie phenotypic variation in pig breeds and facilitate genetic improvement programs. However, prior to this study genomic region under selection in commercially selected Berkshire and Korean native pig breeds has never been detected using high density SNP markers. To this end, we have genotyped 45 animals using Porcine SNP60 chip to detect selection signatures in the genome of the two breeds by using the $F_{ST}$ approach. Results: In the comparison of Berkshire and KNP breeds using the FDIST approach, a total of 1108 outlier loci (3.48%) were significantly different from zero at 99% confidence level with 870 of the outlier SNPs displaying high level of genetic differentiation ($F_{ST}{\geq}0.490$). The identified candidate genes were involved in a wide array of biological processes and molecular functions. Results revealed that 19 candidate genes were enriched in phosphate metabolism (GO: 0006796; ADCK1, ACYP1, CAMK2D, CDK13, CDK13, ERN1, GALK2, INPP1; MAK, MAP2K5, MAP3K1, MAPK14, P14KB, PIK3C3, PRKC1, PTPRK, RNASEL, THBS1, BRAF, VRK1). We have identified a set of candidate genes under selection and have known to be involved in growth, size and pork quality (CART, AGL, CF7L2, MAP2K5, DLK1, GLI3, CA3 and MC3R), ear morphology and size (HMGA2 and SOX5) stress response (ATF2, MSRB3, TMTC3 and SCAF8) and immune response (HCST and RYR1). Conclusions: Some of the genes may be used to facilitate genetic improvement programs. Our results also provide insights for better understanding of the process and influence of breed development on the pattern of genetic variations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.327-332
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• 2016

The genetic relationships between different populations and breeds of exotic dairy goats in Thailand were studied using 12 microsatellite markers. Blood samples were obtained from 211 goats from Department of Livestock Development breeding and research farms: 29 Anglonubian (AN), 21 Alpine (AP), 23 Jamunapari (JAM), 50 Saanen (SN), and 88 Toggenburg (TG). Five of the 12 microsatellite markers were found to be polymorphic. A mean of 7.40 alleles per locus was found, with a range from 5 (SPS115 and ETH225) to 11 (TGLA122). We found 24, 27, 19, 32, and 24 alleles in the AN, AP, JAM, SN, and TG breeds, respectively; 37 alleles were present in all breeds. The mean number of alleles in each population ranged from 3.2 (ETH225 locus) to 7.6 (TGLA122 locus). Genetic variability within the breeds was moderate as evidenced by the mean expected heterozygosity of 0.539. The average observed heterozygosity across the 5 markers in all breeds was 0.529 with the maximum observed at the BM1818 locus (0.772) and the minimum at the ETH225 locus (0.248). The observed and expected heterozygosity for all breeds for the 5 microsatellite markers ranged from 0.419 to 0.772 and 0.227 to 0.792, respectively. On the basis of their means, the TGLA122 and BM1818 loci were the most suitable markers for distinguishing genetic diversity among the goats. The estimated average $F_{is}$ value for the breeds ranged from -0.044 (ETH225) to 0.180 (SPS115), while the estimated average $F_{st}$ value ranged from 0.021 (SPS115) to 0.104 (ETH10). These results indicated that TGLA122 and BM1818 markers are suitable to be used for aiding conservation and breeding improvement strategies of dairy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.747-753
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• 2001

In this study, the Italian milk recorded buffalo population from 1974 to 1996 was analysed with the purpose to estimate genetic and environmental variability and provide genetic parameters for the most important economic traits. High variability between herds was evident due to the poor knowledge of feeding requirements and husbandry technology in this species compared to cattle. Age at first calving was reduced by 57 days during the considered years following efforts made in better feeding and management from 1990; on the contrary, calving interval has increased by 17 days as a consequence of forcing buffaloes to calve in spring, in order to have the peak milk yield when milk is much better paid. Average milk yield increased by 1853 kg during these years, while lactation duration was reduced by 30 days. Season of calving has no effect on all traits. Calving order has a positive effect on milk yield especially because older cows produce more milk in shorter lactations. Heritability for the age at first calving and calving interval was 0.26 and 0.05 respectively. Heritability of productive traits, milk yield and duration of the lactation was 0.19 and 0.13 respectively, with repeatabilities of 0.40 and 0.26. Genetic trend for milk yield was 2.1 kg milk/year for the bulls and 1 kg for all population. The high genetic variability of milk production as well as duration of the lactation, indicates that there are good opportunities for genetic improvement when including these traits in a selection scheme. The low genetic trend registered over 15 years of recording activity can be explained by the fact that neither progeny testing was performed or selection schemes were implemented, due to the difficulties to use artificial insemination in buffalo.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.162-167
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• 2009

Reproductive abilities in beef cattle herds are receiving increased attention due to recent rises in production costs. To achieve more efficient management, a measure of fertility, namely the number of calves produced at k yr of age ($NCP_k$), was developed and its genetic parameters were estimated from Japanese Black cows by restricted maximum likelihood procedures. The k examined were distributed from 2 to 10 yr of age and $NCP_2$ averaged 1.077 calves over 43,536 cows. The averages increased by approximately 0.9 calf with each additional 1 yr increment in k. Heritabilities of $NCP_k$ were estimated to be low ranging from 0.083 to 0.162, which seemingly suggested a difficulty of genetic improvement. However, large genetic variation and high accuracy were observed in predicted breeding values of $NCP_k$. For example, the breeding values of $NCP_7$ were predicted between -0.303 and +0.213 with average accuracy of 0.607 for cows with observations. Genetic correlations among different k were generally high and positive (0.474 to 0.995). The analyses showed that at least $NCP_4$ was required to maintain the genetic correlations of 0.8 or higher with subsequent $NCP_k$. Also $NCP_5$ maintained the genetic correlations of 0.9 or higher with subsequent $NCP_k$ The results suggested some possibilities for $NCP_k$ to be a selection criterion considering its genetic variation, high accuracy and consistency with subsequent performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1075-1079
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• 2005

The main objective of this study is to examine genetic changes in growth rate and carcass composition traits in group housed, ad libitum fed pigs, from lines of Large White divergently selected over four years for high and low post-weaning daily gain on a fixed but restricted ration. Genetic parameters for production and carcass traits were also estimated by using average information-restricted maximum likelihood applied to a multivariate individual animal model. All analyses were carried out on 1,728 records of group housed ad libitum fed pigs, and include a full pedigree of 5,324 animals. Estimates of heritability (standard errors in parentheses) were 0.11 (0.04) for lifetime daily liveweight gain (LDG), 0.13 (0.04) for daily carcass weight gain (CDG) and 0.28 (0.06) for carcass backfat (CFT). Genetic correlations between LDG and CDG were highly positive and between LDG and CFT negative, suggesting that selection for lifetime daily gain under commercial conditions of group housing with ad libitum feeding would result in favourable improvement in carcass traits. CFT showed negative genetic correlations with CDG. Correlated genetic responses evaluated as estimated breeding values (EBVs) were obtained from a multivariate animal model-best linear unbiased prediction analysis. After four years of divergent selection for 6 week post-weaning growth rate on restricted feeding, pigs performance tested on ad libitum feeding in groups exhibited changes in EBVs of 6.77 and -9.93 (g/d) for LDG, 4.25 and -7.08 (g/d) for CDG, and -1.42 and 1.55 (mm) for CFT, in the high and low lines, respectively. It is concluded that selection for growth rate on restricted feeding would significantly improve genetic performance and carcass composition of their descendants when group housed and ad libitum fed as is a common commercial practice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 2020

Multilayer mirrors have widely been used not only in the industry but also in the medical field. X-ray reflectivity was measured by X-ray diffractometer to evaluate the performance of W/C multilayer mirror with 40 layers. Genetic algorithm are used to obtain thickness, density, and interfacial roughness for each of the 40 layers. The existing uniform random selection causes a problem that the solution does not converge or the error increases even if it convergence. To reduce the time to calculate the fitness of the genetic algorithm, the genetic algorithm was written in C/C++ parallel programming. The genetic algorithm showed excellent scalability of linear time increase with increasing number of generation and population. The genetic algorithm was selected with uniform and Gaussian randomness of 1:1 to improve the convergence of solution. The improved genetic algorithm can be applied to characterize each layer of a sample with more than a few tens of layers, such as a multilayer mirror.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1871-1880
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• 2018

Objective: Recently, there has been an increasing interest in conservation of native genetic resources of chicken on a worldwide basis. Most of the native chicken breeds are threatened by extinction or crossing with ecotypes. Methods: Six Saudi native chicken breeds including black naked neck, brown frizzled, black, black barred, brown and gray were used in the current study. The aim of the current study was to evaluate genetic diversity, relationship and population structure of Saudi native chicken breeds based on 20 microsatellite markers. Results: A total of 172 alleles were detected in Saudi native chicken breeds across all 20 microsatellite loci. The mean number of alleles per breed ranged from 4.35 in gray breed to 5.45 in normally feathered black with an average of 8.6 alleles. All breeds were characterized by a high degree of genetic diversity, with the lowest heterozygosity found in the brown breed (72%) and the greatest in the frizzled and black barred populations (78%). Higher estimate of expected heterozygosity (0.68) was found in both black breeds (normal and naked neck) compared to the other chicken populations. All studied breeds showed no inbreeding within breed (negative inbreeding coefficient [$F_{IS}$]). The phylogenetic relationships of chickens were examined using neighbor-joining trees constructed at the level of breeds and individual samples. The neighbor-joining tree constructed at breed level revealed three main clusters, with naked neck and gray breeds in one cluster, and brown and frizzled in the second cluster leaving black barred in a separate one. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the genetic information derived from the current study can be used as a guide for genetic improvement and conservation in further breeding programs. Our findings indicate that the Saudi native chicken populations have a rich genetic diversity and show a high polymorphism.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.381-389
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• 2019

Chlorella vulgaris was isolated from the Nile River, Qalubia Governorate, Egypt, for possible use in biodiesel production. BG-II nutrient growth media was used for isolation and laboratory growth. Identification was performed via 18S rRNA gene amplification, followed by sequencing. The alga was exposed to UV-C (254 nm) for 15, 30, and 45 s to improve dry weight accumulation and to increase the oil production. Daily measurements of dry weight ($g{\cdot}l^{-1}$) were performed; oil content and volumetric lipid productivity were also determined. UV-C exposure led to an increase in the volumetric lipid productivity by 27, 27.3, and $32.4mg{\cdot}l^{-1}{\cdot}d^{-1}$ with 15, 30, and 45 s, respectively, as compared with the control, which resulted in $18mg{\cdot}l^{-1}{\cdot}d^{-1}$. Of the examined mutants, the one with the highest productivity was re-irradiated by UV-C (254 nm) for 15, 30, 45, and 60 s. For 15 s of exposure time, the oil content increased to 34%, while it was 31% at 30 s; further, it decreased to 22% at 45 and 60 s exposures. The fatty acid methyl ester profile was 82.22% in the first mutant at 45 s, compared with the wild strain that contained a total of 66.01% of FAs. Furthermore, the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl ester were observed in the mutant exposed for 45 s, and it reached 11.41%, which reduced the cetane number to 71.3.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1451-1459
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• 2021

Objective: The objectives of the study were to evaluate reproductive performance and selection response through genetic trend of community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) of Bonga sheep. Methods: Reproduction traits data were collected between 2012 and 2018 from Bonga sheep CBBPs. Phenotypic performance was analyzed using the general linear model procedures of Statistical Analysis System. Genetic parameters were estimated by univariate animal model for age at first lambing (AFL) and repeatability models for lambing interval (LI), litter size (LS), and annual reproductive rate (ARR) traits using restricted maximum likelihood method of WOMBAT. For correlations bivariate animal model was used. Best model was chosen based on likelihood ratio test. The genetic trends were estimated by the weighted regression of the average breeding value of the animals on the year of birth/lambing. Results: The overall least squares mean±standard error of AFL, LI, LS, and ARR were 375±12.5, 284±9.9, 1.45±0.010, and 2.31±0.050, respectively. Direct heritability estimates for AFL, LI, LS, and ARR were 0.07±0.190, 0.06±0.120, 0.18±0.070, and 0.25±0.203, respectively. The low heritability for both AFL and LI showed that these traits respond little to selection programs but rather highly depend on animal management options. The annual genetic gains were -0.0281 days, -0.016 days, -0.0002 lambs and 0.0003 lambs for AFL, LI, LS, and ARR, respectively. Conclusion: Implications of the result to future improvement programs were improving management of animals, conservation of prolific flocks and out scaling the CBBP to get better results.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.499-506
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• 2002

This study was conducted to estimate the heritabilities and genetic and phenotypic correlations among average daily gain, age at 90kg and backfat thickness in Yorkshire pigs. The data were obtained from 2,111 heads of Yorkshire tested at National Livestock Research Institute from May, 1994 to April, 2000. Genetic parameters were estimated with a multiple trait animal model by using DF-REML (Deri- vative-Free REstricted Maximum Likelihood). The results obtained are summarized as follows ; The means of traits studied were 0.871${\pm}$0.124 kg for average daily gain, 145.397${\pm}$11.718 days for age at 90kg and 1.476${\pm}$0.241 cm for backfat thickness. The estimated heritabilities were 0.55 for average daily gain, 0.56 for age at 90kg and 0.55 for backfat thickness. The genetic correlation of average daily gain with age at 90kg and backfat thickness were －0.82, 0.10, respectively. The genetic correlation of age at 90kg with backfat thickness was －0.25. The phenotypic correlations of average daily gain(ADG) with age at 90kg and backfat thickness and age at 90kg with backfat thickness were －0.77, 0.02 and －0.05 respectively. Though phenotypic correlation of ADG and age at 90kg was low, breeding project should be carefully considered by high genetic correlation. High heritabilities on all economic traits were obtained. Therefore, it is considered that suitable selection and management is needed successful improvement.