• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.145-148
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• 2010

Oxygen consumption has been regarded as a useful indicator for assessment of mammalian embryo quality. This study was performed to investigate whether oxygen consumption reflects morphological grade of in vivo derived bovine blastocyst-stage embryos (blastocyst). The oxygen consumption of in vitro produced blastocyst was compared to its total cell number. In addition, pregnant rate was measured after transplantation of in vivo blastocysts with different oxygen consumption. The quality of blastocyst collected on day 7 after artificial insemination was categorized as grade I and II (G I and G II) based on microscopic observation of the morphology. Oxygen consumption of blastocyst was measured using a scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and total cell number of in vitro blastocyst was enumerated by counting cells stained by propidium iodide. Pregnancy of recipient cow was confirmed with rectal palpation after 60 days of embryo transfer. The oxygen consumptions of G I blastocysts were significantly higher than those of G II blastocysts ($10.2{\times}10^{15}/mol\;s^{-1}$ versus $6.4{\times}10^{15}/mol\;s^{-1}$, p<0.05). Total cell numbers of in vitro blastocysts were 74.8, 90.7, and 110.2 in the oxygen consumption of below 10.0, 10.0~12.0, and over $12.0{\sim}10^{15}/mol\;s^{-1}$ respectively. Total cell number was significantly increased in embryos with high oxygen consumption (p<0.05). Pregnant rate in recipient cow was 0, 50, and 85.7% in the transplantation of embryo with the oxygen consumption of below 10.0, 10.0~12.0, and over $12.0{\times}10^{15}/mol\;s^{-1}$, respectively. These results suggest that measurement of oxygen consumption may help increase the pregnant rate of bovine embryos.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.432-444
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• 2014

When the water quality modelling is done with a manual calibration, it is possible that the researcher's opinion may affect the objectivity of the research. Hence, the role of the automatic calibration is highly important. This research applies a technique to automatically calibrate the water quality parameters by implementing an optimization method. This involves estimating the optimum water quality parameters targeting influential parameters towards the lake's BOD, DO, Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Phytoplankton. To accurately calculate the water temperature and hydraulic characteristics of a deep, stratifying lake, EFDC, a 3-dimensional hydraulic model which can be linked to the WASP7 was applied. With EFDC, the segment of the lake is formed and utilized as an input data of the WASP7. For the calibration of the water quality parameters of the WASP7, an influence coefficient algorithm and a genetic algorithm was applied. Of the five water quality variables for calibration, the normalized residuals of the observed and calculated values of DO, TN, CBOD were relatively small and the three water quality variables were calibrated properly. Yet the accuracy of the calibration of TP and Chl-a was relatively low.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1674-1678
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate genetic correlations between the behavioural profile and performance in laying hens as an indirect answer to the question whether the observed behavioural responses are associated with increased levels of stress in these birds. Methods: The assessment of birds' temperament was carried out using the novel objects test. The behavioural test was conducted in two successive generations comprising 9,483 Rhode Island White (RIW) birds (approx. 4,700 individuals per generation) and 4,326 Rhode Island Red (RIR) birds (approx. 2,100 individuals per generation). Based on the recorded responses, the birds were divided into two groups: a fearful profile (1,418 RIW hens and 580 RIR hens) and a brave/curious profile (8,065 RIW hens and 3,746 RIR hens). The birds were subjected to standard assessment of their performance traits, including SM, age at sexual maturity; ST, shell thickness; SG, egg specific gravity; EW, mean egg weight; IP, initial egg production; and HC, number of hatched chicks. The pedigree was three generations deep (including two behaviourrecorded generations). Estimation of the (co)variance components was performed with the Gibbs sampling method, which accounts for the discrete character of the behavioural profile denotation. Results: The analyses revealed negative correlations between the performance traits of the laying hens and the behavioural profile defined as fearful. In the group of fearful RIW birds, delayed sexual maturation (0.22) as well as a decrease in the initial egg production (-0.30), egg weight (-0.54), egg specific gravity (-0.331), shell thickness (-0.11), and the number of hatched chicks (-0.24) could be expected. These correlations were less pronounced in the RIR breed, in which the fearful birds exhibited a decline in hatchability (-0.37), egg specific gravity (-0.11), and the number of hatched chicks (-0.18). There were no correlations in the case of the other traits or they were positive but exhibited a substantial standard error, as for the egg weight. Conclusion: To sum up the results obtained, it can be noted that behavioural responses indicating fearfulness, i.e. escape, avoidance, and approach-avoidance may reflect negative emotions experienced by birds. The negative correlations with performance in the group of fearful hens may indirectly indicate a high level of stress in these birds, especially in the white-feathered birds, where stronger performance-fearfulness correlations were found. Fearful birds should be eliminated from breeding by inclusion of the behavioural profile in the selection criterion in the case of laying hens.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1001-1005
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• 2006

The objective of this study was carried out to evaluate the suitability of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for genetic diversity assessment and identification of rice varieties. The 23 primers selected from 50 SSR primers showed polymorphisms in the 21 rice varieties. The 2 to 9 SSR alleles were detected for each locus with an average of 3.00 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged form 0.091 to 0.839. Based on band patterns, UPGMA cluster analysis was conducted. These varieties were separate into 4 groups corresponding to rice ecotype and pedigree information and genetic distance of cluster ranging from 0.59 to 0.92. The 4 SSR primer sets (RM206, RM225, RM418, RM478) selected form 23 polymorphic primers were differentiated all the rice variety from each other by markers genotypes. These markers may be used wide range of practical application in variety identification of rice.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.244-253
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• 2012

Bone mineral density (BMD) is used in the clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis and the assessment of fracture risk. Osteoporosis, characterized mainly by decreased BMD, is a highly heritable complex disorder and a major public health concern to hundreds of millions of elderly persons worldwide. However, the specific genetic variants determining risk for low bone density are still largely unknown. Here, we performed association analysis to elucidate the possible relations of genetic polymorphisms in ESR1 gene with low bone density. By examining genotype data of a total of 1813 women in the Korean Association REsource (KARE) study, we discovered the ESR1 gene polymorphisms are associated with decreased BMD and osteoporosis. The results on the BD-RT (bone density estimated by T-score at distal radius), three SNPs (rs2248586, rs9371557, and rs1569788) within the ESR1 gene were significantly associated with bone density. The results on the BD-TT (bone density estimated by T-score at midshaft tibia), five SNPs (rs9371552, rs2248586, rs712221, rs7772475, and rs3798577) were significantly associated with bone density. The SNP rs2248586 within the ESR1 gene had commonly significance in both BD-RT (${\beta}$=-0.151, dominant P=0.049) and BD-TT (${\beta}$=-0.156, dominant P=0.039). In the SNP rs2248586, their ${\beta}$-values in BD-RT and/or BD-TT showed consistent trends with the odds ratios (ORs) of osteoporosis. In summary, we found statistically significant SNPs in ESR1 gene that are associated with both decreased BMD and osteoporosis traits. Therefore, our findings suggest ESR1 gene could be related to pathogenesis of osteoporosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.2 s.75
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• pp.219-224
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• 2006

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis were used to assess genetic diversity among 18 genotypes of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) including breeding lines and commercial varieties. The 21 ISSR primers selected from 100 primers were showed the amplification of 105 reproducible fragments ranging from about 200 bp to 5000 bp. A total of 58 DNA fragments were polymorphic with an average 2.7 polymorphic bands per primer. The polymorphic primers were divided into 18 anchored primers and 3 non anchored primers. All of the anchored primers were di-nucleotide repeat motif, and was more polymorphic than non anchored primers. Eighteen watermelon genotypes were classified into two large groups. Clustering was in some accordance with the division of fruit shape into 18 watermelon. Therefore, ISSR markers may be suitable for variety discrimination and for constructing a linkage map of watermelon.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.399-412
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• 2011

Little is known about the genetics or genomics of Panax ginseng. In this study, we developed 70 expressed sequence tagderived polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers by trials of 140 primer pairs. All of the 70 markers showed reproducible polymorphism among four Panax species and 19 of them were polymorphic in six P. ginseng cultivars. These markers segregated 1:2:1 manner of Mendelian inheritance in an $F_2$ population of a cross between two P. ginseng cultivars, 'Yunpoong' and 'Chunpoong', indicating that these are reproducible and inheritable mappable markers. A phylogenetic analysis using the genotype data showed three distinctive groups: a P. ginseng-P. japonicus clade, P. notoginseng and P. quinquefolius, with similarity coefficients of 0.70. P. japonicus was intermingled with P. ginseng cultivars, indicating that both species have similar genetic backgrounds. P. ginseng cultivars were subdivided into three minor groups: an independent cultivar 'Chunpoong', a subgroup with three accessions including two cultivars, 'Gumpoong' and 'Yunpoong' and one landrace 'Hwangsook' and another subgroup with two accessions including one cultivar, 'Gopoong' and one landrace 'Jakyung'. Each primer pair produced 1 to 4 bands, indicating that the ginseng genome has a highly replicated paleopolyploid genome structure.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.896-907
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• 1999

The morphometrical characteristics such as external measurements and mandible size assessment in mice and rats have to be highly heritable and sufficiently variable between strains in order to calculate a strain specific profiles. The coat color of Korean wild rats were observed and morphometric analysis of external measurements were carried out on Korean wild rats compared to laboratory strains in order to clarify the genetic characteristics of Korean wild rats and to establish background data as a domestication of Korean wild rats for new laboratory strain. Korean wild rats were captured from Chunchon and Hoengsong. 4 inbred and 1 outbred strains of rats were used in this study for the comparison of genetic characteristic of Korean wild rats. Total body length, head length, tail length, hind foot length and ear length were measured and then statistical analysis were carried out by discrimiant analysis. The coat color of Korean wild rat showed golden white in ventral portion and dark agouti in dorsal portion. Korean wild rats could be distinguished from the other laboratory strains distinctly by morphogenetical analysis. There was significant variations among Korean wild rat compared to those of the other laboratory strains of rat. This study may provide that Korean wild rats have a unique genetic characterization compared to those of other inbred strains of rats based on morphogenetical characteristics by external measurements.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1411-1416
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• 2014

Gender selection is important in livestock industries; for example, female calves are required in the dairy industry. Sex-sorted semen is commonly used for the production of calves of the desired gender. However, assessment of the sex ratio of the sorted semen is tedious and expensive. In this study, a rapid, cost effective and reliable method for determining the sex ratio was developed using a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. In this assay, the X and Y chromosome-specific markers, i.e., bovine proteolipid protein (PLP) gene and sex-determining region Y (SRY) were simultaneously quantified in a single tube. The multiplex real-time PCR assay was shown to have high amplification efficiencies (97% to 99%) comparable to the separated-tube simplex real-time PCR assay. The results obtained from both assays were not significantly different (p>0.05). The multiplex assay was validated using reference DNA of known X ratio (10%, 50%, and 90%) as templates. The measured %X in semen samples were the same within 95% confidence intervals as the expected values, i.e., >90% in X-sorted semen, <10% in Y-sorted semen and close to 50% in the unsorted semen. The multiplex real-time PCR assay as shown in this study can thus be used to assess purity of sex-sorted semen.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.338-343
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• 2013

Serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) are widely used in the clinical diagnosis of hepatic diseases and the assessment of liver status. They also have epidemiological significance to be prospective risk factors for bone diseases, such as osteitis deformans, rickets, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism, healing fractures, and osteoblastic bone tumors. In the previous study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in several genes have been reported to be associated with serum levels of liver enzyme in American population. We aimed to confirm whether the genetic variation of RETNLB (resistin like beta) gene also influence the serum levels of liver enzyme in Korean population. We genotyped variants in or near RETNLB in a population-based sample including 994 Korean adults. Here, we performed association analysis to elucidate the possible relations of genetic polymorphisms in RETNLB gene with serum levels of liver enzyme. By examining genotype data of a total of 944 subjects in 5 hospital health promotion centers, we discovered the RETNLB gene polymorphisms are associated with serum levels of ALP. The common and highest significant polymorphism was rs736327 (${\beta}$=8.66, P=2.37E-05), rs7639070 (${\beta}$=8.56, P=3.24E-05) with ALP in all groups. Furthermore, the ALP was consistently associated with rs736327 (${\beta}$=10.40, P=5.23E-05), rs7639070 (${\beta}$=10.32, P=6.74E-05) in the male population. Consequently, we found statistically significant SNPs in RETNLB gene that are associated with serum levels of ALP. In addition, these results suggest that the individuals with the minor alleles of the SNP in the RETNLB gene may have elevated serum levels of ALP in the Korean population.