• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.28.1-28.6
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• 2014

This study was conducted to estimate the effective population size using SNPs data of 240 Jeju horses that had raced at the Jeju racing park. Of the total 61,746 genotyped autosomal SNPs, 17,320 (28.1%) SNPs (missing genotype rate of >10%, minor allele frequency of <0.05 and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test P-value of < $10^{-6}$) were excluded after quality control processes. SNPs on the X and Y chromosomes and genotyped individuals with missing genotype rate over 10% were also excluded, and finally, 44,426 (71.9%) SNPs were selected and used for the analysis. The measures of the LD, square of correlation coefficient ($r^2$) between SNP pairs, were calculated for each allele and the effective population size was determined based on $r^2$ measures. The polymorphism information contents (PIC) and expected heterozygosity (HE) were 0.27 and 0.34, respectively. In LD, the most rapid decline was observed over the first 1 Mb. But $r^2$ decreased more slowly with increasing distance and was constant after 2 Mb of distance and the decline was almost linear with log-transformed distance. The average $r^2$ between adjacent SNP pairs ranged from 0.20 to 0.31 in each chromosome and whole average was 0.26, while the whole average $r^2$ between all SNP pairs was 0.02. We observed an initial pattern of decreasing $N_e$ and estimated values were closer to 41 at 1 ~ 5 generations ago. The effective population size (41 heads) estimated in this study seems to be large considering Jeju horse's population size (about 2,000 heads), but it should be interpreted with caution because of the technical limitations of the methods and sample size.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

The nerippe fritillary butterfly, Argynnis nerippe, is listed as an endangered species in Korea. Establishment of effective conservation strategies can be aided by the development and application of molecular markers that can be used to investigate the population genetics of the butterfly. Therefore, in this study, we identified ten microsatellite markers specific to A. nerippe using the Next-Seq 500 platform, and applied these markers to investigate the characteristics of five South Korean butterfly populations. Genotyping of 48 A. nerippe individuals from five localities showed that at each locus the number of alleles ranged from 4 to 14, and that the observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.324-0.863 and 0.138-0.985, respectively. Significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was not observed at any locus. Population structure analysis indicated that there are two genetic groups in Korea, but no population-based gene pool assignments were found. Analysis of $F_{ST}$, $R_{ST}$, and a principal coordinates analysis suggested that the Gureopdo and Yaecheon populations were isolated from other populations. Genetic isolation of the Gureopdo population may be a consequence of unequal population change between Gureopdo and inland populations and to the offshore habitat of Gureopdo. Genetic isolation of the Yaecheon population may be a consequence either of the southernmost location of the population or of the limited sample size available. Further studies with increased sample sizes will be necessary to draw robust conclusions on population isolation and to devise conservation strategies.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.708-710
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• 2010

'Skinny Green' is the third hairless-variety release by National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS) of Rural Development Administration (RDA) in Korea. It was bred by field crossing using the KN8903 as the mother plant, which had been selected from the crossbreeding of a Korean wild germplasm of tara vine with a male $Actinidia$ $deliciosa$ cv. Tomuri, and tara vine as the father plant collected from Korean mountains. The principal features of the final release are firstly, the fruit size not bigger than a mouthful bite with the average fruit weight not more than 19.3 g, and secondly, the thin and hairless edible fruit skin. It has green flesh color maintaining soluble solids and acid contents about $16.7^{\circ}Brix$ and 0.91% respectively. Its harvest season is usually in mid October. As it is not self-fertile it needs artificial pollination. Its tendency to produce maximum numbers of fruit requires thinning out of the fruits in a proper way.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.627-631
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of genetic differences in the bovine leptin gene and milk yield, reproduction, body condition score (BCS), and plasma glucose level in Iranian Holstein cows. In total, two hundred and thirty eight cows were used and genotyped for a restricted fragment length polymorphism at the leptin gene locus. Two genotypes, AA and AB, have been distinguished which have the frequencies of 0.89 and 0.11, respectively. The genotypes were distributed according to the Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium ($x^2$ = 0.733). During the first 12 wk of lactation, milk yield and composition, live weight, BCS and plasma glucose were measured in 50 cows. Data were analyzed based on a repeated measures ANOVA. During this period, milk yield and composition, live weight, BCS and plasma glucose level were similar among the genotypes. The first cumulative 60-d milk yield, 305-d milk yield, days to first breeding, days open and days from first breeding to conception using previous lactation records were also analyzed using Standard Least Square within mixed models. Fixed effects were year, season, parity and age at calving, and sire. For the reproductive traits the cumulative first 60-d milk yield was also added to the model. Animal was fitted as a random effect. A significant association was detected between the RFLP-AB genotype and 305-d milk yield (p<0.05). The first 60-d cumulative milk yield was similar for the two genotypes (p = 0.21) and tended to be higher in the heterozygous cows. The heterozygous genotypes at the above mentioned locus had a trend to better reproductive performance than the homozygous. The results demonstrate that the RFLP B-allele can yield a higher 305-d milk production with a trend to better reproductive performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.622-626
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• 2006

Molecular characterization of Hallikar, the native cattle breed of Karnataka, was undertaken using 19 cattle specific, highly polymorphic microsatellite markers recommended by FAO. The genomic DNA was subjected to PCR amplification and alleles were resolved through six per cent denaturing PAGE with a 10 bp DNA ladder followed by silver staining. Genotyping of animals was done based on allele size. The number of alleles ranged from three to nine with allele sizes ranging from 102 bp to 294 bp. These alleles were distributed in the frequency range between 0.0306 and 0.8673 in the population. The mean observed number of alleles was $6.368{\pm}1.4225$. The mean observed and expected heterozygosities were $0.7515{\pm}0.1734$ and $0.7850{\pm}0.1381$, respectively. The high heterozygosity observed implies presence of higher genetic variability within Hallikar breed. The PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) values ranged from 0.2322 (ETH152) to 0.8654 (ETH225). The percentage of polymorphic loci obtained was 100 as all the 19 microsatellite markers were found to be polymorphic. Except for ETH152, all the other loci had high PIC values, indicating that these markers are highly informative for characterization of Hallikar breed. The population was tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at 19 microsatellite loci, and at 74 per cent of the loci the population was found to be in disequilibrium.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.187-194
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• 1995

Genetic variants of ${\alpha}s_1$-casein, ${\beta}$-casein, ${\kappa}$-casein and ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin were investigated by starch urea gel electrophoresis in milk samples of 280 Korean native cattle. A new ${\beta}$-casein variant, designated ${\beta}$-casein $A^4$, was found in milk samples of Korean native cattle. It has a much slower electrophoretic mobility than the ${\beta}$-casein $A^3$ variant in acid gel. This new variant appeared together with either ${\beta}$-casein $A^1$, $A^2$ or B variant. Gene frequencies and genotypic frequencies were estimated. Gene frequencies of four milk protein loci in Korean native cattle were compared with those of imported cattle breeds raised in Korea and Japanese brown cattle. Gene frequencies were ${\alpha}s_1$-casein B .846, ${\alpha}s_1$-casein C .154; ${\beta}$-casein $A^1$ .216, ${\beta}$-casein $A^2$ .666, ${\beta}$-casein $A^4$ .048, ${\beta}$-casein B .070; ${\kappa}$-casein A .648, ${\kappa}$-casein B .352; ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin A .148, ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin B .852. The population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at all milk protein loci. Gene frequencies of Korean native cattle were very similar to those of Japanese brown cattle. Interestingly, a new variant, ${\beta}$-casein $A^4$, was found only in Korean native cattle and Japanese brown cattle. These results support the hypothesis that Korean native cattle were used in the development of the Japanese brown cattle.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.10009-10013
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• 2014

Background: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene has been a subject of extensive pharmacogenetic research recently. Association studies between different types of cancers including prostate cancer (PCa) and VDR gene polymorphism have also been conducted. The objective of this study was to find possible associations between PCa and VDR gene polymorphisms in the Pakistani population. Materials and Methods: A total of 162 subjects, including prostate cancer patients and controls, were genotyped for Apa I, Taq I and Fok I polymorphisms in the VDR gene using allele specific PCR, PCR-RFLP and direct DNA sequencing. Allelic frequencies were tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and associations between the genetic markers and PCa were calculated using logistic regression. Results: Apa I CC genotype was found to have strongest association with PCa risk, and "A" genotype was found to have protective effect. Fok I and Taq I did not have appreciable levels of association with PCa, although Taq I "TC" heterozygotes seemed to have some protective effect. Similarly the "C" allele of Fok I also seemed to have protective effect. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report showing association between VDR gene polymorphisms and PCa in Pakistan. Our findings may be somewhat skewed because of small sample size and tendency of consanguineous marriages in Pakistani society; nevertheless, it shows the trend of association and protective effects of certain VDR gene polymorphisms against PCa.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2227-2230
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• 2015

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed neoplasms and the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the Western world. Vitamin D (1,25dihydroxy vitamin D) is linked to many biological processes that influence oncogenesis but data on relations between its genetic variants and cancer risk have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to determine associations between a vitamin D genetic polymorphism and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from 124 Jordanian prostate cancer patients and 100 healthy volunteers. Ethical approval was granted from the ethical committee at Hashemite University and written consent was given by all patients. PCR was used to amplify the vitamin D receptor Fok1 polymorphism fragment. 25(OH)D serum levels were measured by competitive immunoassay. Results: All genotypes were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Genotype frequency for Fok1 genotypes FF, Ff and ff was 30.7%, 61.3% and 8.06%, for prostate cancer patients, while frequencies for the control group was 28.0%, 66.0% and 6.0%, respectively, with no significant differences. Vitamin D serum level was significantly lower in prostate cancer patients (mean 7.7 ng/ml) compared to the control group (21.8 ng/ml). No significant association was noted between 25(OH)D and VDR Fok1 gene polymorphism among Jordanians overall, but significant associations were evident among prostate cancer patients (FF, Ff and ff : 25(OH)D levels of 6.2, 8.2 and 9.9) and controls (19.0, 22.5 and 26.3, respectively). An inverse association was noted between 25(OH)D serum level less than 10ng/ml and prostate cancer risk (OR 35.5 and 95% CI 14.3- 88.0). Conclusions: There is strong inverse association between 25(OH)D serum level less than 10ng/ml level and prostate cancer risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4801-4807
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• 2014

Background: Previous studies have investigated the association between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) BsmI polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility, but the results were conflicting. The aim of this study is to quantitatively summarize the relationship between this polymorphism and CRC risk. Materials and Methods: Two investigators independently searched the Medline, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Chinese Biomedicine databases for studies published before November 2013. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for VDR BsmI polymorphism and CRC were calculated in a fixed-effects model (the Mantel-Haenszel method) and a random-effects model (the DerSimonian and Laird method) when appropriate. Results: This meta-analysis included 14 case-control studies, which included 10,822 CRC cases and 11,779 controls. Overall, the variant genotype (BB) of the BsmI was associated with a lower CRC risk when compared with the wild-type bb homozygote (OR=0.66, 95%CI: 0.49-0.88). Similarly, a decreased CRC risk was also found in the dominant and recessive models. When stratifying for ethnicity, source of controls, and study sample size, associations were observed among Caucasians, population-based studies and studies with large study sample size (>1000 subjects). Limiting the analysis to the studies within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the results were persistent and robust. No publication bias was found in the present study. Conclusions: This updated meta-analysis suggests that the VDR BsmI polymorphism may be associated with a moderate protective effect against CRC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.851-857
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• 2009

We developed and characterized 36 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). In total, 169 alleles were identified with an average of 4.7 alleles per locus. Values for observed ($H_o$) and expected ($H_E$) heterozygosities ranged from 0.027 to 0.946 and from 0.027 to 0.810, respectively. Nineteen loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Significant (P<0.05) excess heterozygosity was observed at nine loci. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was significant (P<0.05) between pairs of locus alleles. Cluster analysis revealed that five species of genus Pleurotus made a distinct group, and the individual cultivars were grouped into major five groups from G-1 to G-5. The diverse cultivars of P. ostreatus were discriminated and the other four species revealed a different section in the UPGMA tree. These microsatellite markers proved to be very useful tools for genetic studies, including assessment of the diversity and population structure of P. ostreatus.