• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.325-330
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• 2005

Ancient cattle bones were excavated from archaeological sites in Jeju, Korea. We used molecular genetic techniques to identify the species and establish its relationship to extant cattle breeds. Ancient DNA was extracted from four sources: a humerus (Gonae site, A.D. 700-800), two fragments of radius, and a tooth (Kwakji site, A.D. 0-900). The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop regions were cloned, sequenced, and compared with previously reported sequences of various cattle breeds (9 Asian, 8 European, and 3 African). The results revealed that these bones were of the breed, Bos taurus, and a phylogenetic tree indicated that the four cattle bones formed a monophyletic group with Jeju native black cattle. However, the patterns of sequence variation and reports from archaeological sites suggest that a few wild cattle, with a different maternal lineage, may have existed on Jeju Island. Our results will contribute to further studies of the origin of Jeju native cattle and the possible existence of local wild cattle.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.728-738
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• 2020

Time and cost-effective production of next-generation sequencing data has enabled the performance of population-scale comparative and evolutionary studies for various species, which are essential for obtaining the comprehensive insight into molecular mechanisms underlying species- or breed-specific traits. In this study, the evolutionary and functional analysis of Korean native pig (KNP) was performed using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data by comparative and population genomic approaches with six different mammalian species and five pig breeds. We examined the evolutionary history of KNP SNPs, and the specific genes of KNP based on the uniqueness of non-synonymous SNPs among the used species and pig breeds. We discovered the evolutionary trajectory of KNP SNPs within the used mammalian species as well as pig breeds. We also found olfaction-associated functions that have been characterized and diversified during evolution, and quantitative trait loci associated with the unique traits of KNP. Our study provides new insight into the evolution of KNP and serves as a good example for a better understanding of domestic animals in terms of evolution and domestication using the combined approaches of comparative and population genomics.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.187-191
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• 2023

Korean native ducks (KNDs) continue to have a high preference from consumers due to their excellent meat quality and taste characteristics. However, due to low productivity and fixed plumage color phenotype, it could not secure a large share in the domestic market compared to imported species. In order to improve the market share of KNDs, the genetic characteristics of the breed should be identified and used for improvement and selection. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the genetic information of colored and white KNDs using next-generation resequencing data and screening for differences between the two groups. As a result of the analysis, the genetic variants that showed significant differences between the colored and white KND groups were mainly identified as mutations related to tyrosine activity. The variants were located in the genes that affect melanin synthesis and regulation, such as EGFR, PDGFRA, and DDR2, and these were reported as the candidate genes related to plumage pigmentation in poultry. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to be useful as a basis for understanding and utilizing the genetic characteristics of KNDs for genetic improvement and selection of white broiler KNDs.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.341-350
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• 2008

This trial was conducted to investigate effects of different feeding types of conventional or total mixed rations (TMR) provision on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention and blood metabolite characteristics in different breeds of native and cross bred Korean black goats. Ten Korean native male goats and 10 Korean crossbred black male goats (Korean native $\times$ Australian feral crossbred, 50:50), average 18 kg of BW, were used in this trial, and each breed of Korean black goats was separated into conventional and TMR diets treatments in a randomized complete block design. Conventional diet was based on forages and commercial diet. All animals were housed in individual metabolism crates and were fed ad libitum. Water was available at all times. Experimental period totally lasted for 38 days, consisting of 14 days of adaptation, 10 days of preliminary period and 14 days of sample collection period. Daily dry matter intake was significantly (p<0.05) higher in TMR treatments of the crossbred goats. Within breeds, crossbred rather than native-bred consumed more highly, and within the feeding type, TMR diets were more fed in comparison with conventional diet. Average daily gain ranked the highest in crossbred : TMR, followed by crossbred: conventional diet, native-bred: TMR, and native-bred: conventional diet (p<0.05). Dry matter digestibility was significantly (p<0.05) higher for TMR than for conventional diets, and it was higher in crossbred than in native-bred Korea black goats. Nitrogen retention was highest in TMR treatments of crossbreed, whereas it was lowest in conventional diet of native breed (p<0.05). Plasma glucose and urea nitrogen concentrations were significantly (p<0.05) higher in crossbred than in native-bred Korean black goats. Overall, the results indicated that feeding total mixed ration to crossbred rather than native-bred Korean black goats had more favourable influences on their performances, intakes, digestibility, nitrogen retention and blood metabolite characteristics. In conclusion, it is conceived that the results may contribute to economical benefit to farms producing Korean black goats together with establishment of an efficient feeding management system.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.381-389
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• 2000

The Jindo is a Korean native dog, well-known for its hunting and guarding abilities. When he gives his devotion to one individual, he gives it whole-heartedly. He is not tempted easily and impetuous. The breed was not developed. but the dog retained their original qualities -loyal, alert, fearless, obedient, watchful, intelligent, energetic- to survive in the harsh environment of the Jindo island. The dog had been spread over the entire Korean peninsula from the time unknown, and the ones in the Jindo island, isolated until lately, survived and maintained their original characteristics. They are now spread over the entire Jindo County consisted of many islands, whence the breed name came. The Jindo comes in a variety of colors and color combinations, with the fawn and white colorings predominant. The dog is one of the Korean natural monuments, protected by law since early 1960s. The Jindo gained official approval by the Federation Cynologique Internationale as a hunting dog. Apart from the basic housetraining, the dog rarely gets training. Many people have attempted to preserve its pure bloodlines and original qualities. Today, there are a total of 10,356 Jindoes being raised over the entire Jindo County, and many more are kept elsewhere. A research into genetic characteristics of the Jindo is now going on, using the technique of isozyme electrophoresis. The Jindo Dog Breeding Management Center has been reinforced lately, and in addition to their routines, the Center is to work on the breeding of the Jindo. Efforts should be made in the future to produce stable, trustworthy Jindoes according to their proposed use and to modify their temperament in order to make it more widely acceptable as a pet and companion dog in the strangers home.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-18
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• 2008

Until now, there are no scientific studies for Dongkyung-i(DKI) dog, which is recently called as Deng-Kyun. This study is aimed to investigate the characteristics of DKI. According to visiting studies, DKI is an active, live and muscular dog. The dog is willing to announce the approach of strangers friendly. As the results of morphological studies, DKI is medium sized and the average weight is 22.6 kg. Its coat has mainly yellowish brown color and short hair. Morphologically, the dog showed vestigial tail and muscular and sturdy pelvic limbs. As the results of radiological studies, DKI is characterized as the absence of coccygeal vertebrae or the coccygeal agenesis. We concluded that DKI may be a Korean native canine breed characterized as short or non-tail dog. Also, we suggested that this characteristic dog is valuable to develop as a Korean native breed.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.1895-1902
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• 2021

Objective: Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are contiguous lengths of homozygous genotypes that can reveal inbreeding levels, selection pressure, and mating schemes. In this study, ROHs were evaluated in Wannan Black pigs to assess the inbreeding levels and the genome regions with high ROH frequency. Methods: In a previous study, we obtained 501.52 GB of raw data from resequencing (10×) of the genome and identified 21,316,754 single-nucleotide variants in 20 Wannan Black pig samples. We investigated the number, length, and frequency of ROH using resequencing data to characterize the homozygosity in Wannan Black pigs and identified genomic regions with high ROH frequencies. Results: In this work, 1,813 ROHs (837 ROHs in 100 to 500 kb, 449 ROHs in 500 to 1,000 kb, 527 ROHs in >1,000 kb) were identified in all samples, and the average genomic inbreeding coefficient (F_ROH) in Wannan Black pigs was 0.5234. Sixty-one regions on chromosomes 2, 3, 7, 8, 13, 15, and 16 harbored ROH islands. In total, 105 genes were identified in 42 ROH islands, among which some genes were related to production traits. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify ROH across the genome of Wannan Black pigs, the Chinese native breed of the Anhui province. Overall, Wannan Black pigs have high levels of inbreeding due to the influence of ancient and recent inbreeding due to the genome. These findings are a reliable resource for future studies and contribute to save and use the germplasm resources of Wannan Black pigs.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2022

We compared the degrees of vitality of 12 Korean native chicken breeds, such as Jaeraejong, Korean Rhode Island Red (Rhode), Korean White Leghorn, Korean Cornish (Cornish), and Korean Ogye breeds. The survival rate and telomere length were measured as vital markers. Telomere length was analyzed via quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization method using the lymphocytes of 466 chickens. We found that the telomere length decreased linearly with increasing chronological age in all chicken breeds. Telomere length and telomere shortening rates (TSR) were significantly different among the chicken breeds after 20 weeks of age (P<0.01). Rhode had the longest telomere length and the lowest TSR, whereas Cornish had the shortest telomere length and the highest TSR. In terms of TSR, the telomere length of 50-week-old chickens was half of that of 8-week-old chickens. There was also a significant difference in survival rates among the breeds. Both Rhode and Korean Ogye had the highest survival rates, while Cornish had the lowest. There was a significant positive correlation between survival rate and telomere length, and telomere length in old age showed a higher correlation with survival rate than that in young age. Therefore, it is considered that TSR is more closely related to survival rate than the telomere length. Based on the telomere dynamics and survival rates of 12 Korean native chicken breeds, it was concluded that the Rhode breed and Cornish breed had the highest and lowest vitality, respectively.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.788-801
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• 2021

This study examined biochemical components, fatty acids, antioxidant dipeptides, and muscle fiber density of breast and thigh muscles from Korean new native chicken strains (A and B) at two slaughter ages, compared with white semi-broiler (W) or broilers. The pH values were different by chicken breed. The new native strains had the lowest fat content in the breast at 12 wk (p<0.05). Regardless of the muscles, A and B at 12 wk had higher levels of arachidonic acid (ARA; C20:4), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6), and nervonic acid (C24:1) than broilers (p<0.05). A similar result was observed for the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids ratio (P/S) content in the breast. Irrespective of the muscles, A and B enriched with omega-3 fatty acids had a lower ω-6/ω-3 PUFA ratio than broilers (p<0.05) at 12 wk. Of the antioxidant di-peptides, the anserine contents were highest in A and B than in the W or broilers (p<0.05), regardless of the muscles and slaughter ages. Furthermore, the breast meat from A and B contained a higher muscle fiber density for both slaughter ages than the W and broilers (p<0.05). Based on these findings, even if the commercial birds (broilers or W) are raised under the similar environmental conditions as A and B, the new native chicken strains have distinct meat quality attributes, particularly higher ARA and DHA levels, lower ω-6/ω-3 PUFA ratio, and higher anserine contents.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1007-1011
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• 2020

This study was conducted to analyze the genetic diversity and relationships that discriminate between Korean native black goat populations (Dangjin, Jangsu, Tongyoung, and Gyeongsang National University strains) and crossbred goats. Monomorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in each strain were collected, and 133 common SNPs were selected for analysis. These 133 monomorphic SNPs showed differences in the genetic structure of the Korean native black goat and crossbred goats, and results from the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the two can be clearly separated. Furthermore, analysis of the validation population comprising 70 individuals (Korean native black goats, n = 24; crossbred goats, n = 46) with the reference population showed that Korean native black goat strains and the reference population have the same genetic structure, and the crossbred goats shared only part of the genetic structure with the reference population. The result of the PCA analysis showed that the Korean native black goat strains form one population, whereas the foreign strains form another population which is more widely dispersed than the Korean native black goat strains. Thus, the results from this study can be used as baseline data for the conservation of genetic resources of Korean native black goat communities through utilization of monomorphic SNPs and for the introduction of exotic species for further improvement in genetic diversity. This study can also help reduce unnecessary inbreeding and gene flow between native strains.