• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.2.1-2.7
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• 2014

Sexual dimorphism in intelligence suggests that this phenotype is a sexually selected trait. This view is supported by an overrepresentation (compared to the autosomal genome) of genes affecting cognition on the X chromosome. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that sexual selection can explain sex and country-level differences in performance on tests of fluid intelligence. Nationally representative samples from N = 44 countries were obtained from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Creative Problem Solving (CPS), which evaluates the core of intelligence, that is novel problem solving ability. Sexual selection has the double effect of increasing the prevalence of a favored phenotype and reducing genetic variation in sexually selected traits. Matching these predictions from evolutionary theory, the average country fluid intelligence is positively correlated to sexual dimorphism after partialling out per capita GDP and the latter in turn is inversely correlated to variance in intelligence scores within populations. Males have a higher variance than females but there is a negative correlation between male-female difference in variance and sexual dimorphism in intelligence, suggesting that selection reduces variance more in the selected sex. Average country male height is negatively correlated to sexual dimorphism in intelligence, a fact that supports the notion of a trade-off between physical and intellectual competition in the context of access to females. The results of this study, if replicated, imply that genome-wide association studies of cognition may benefit from a focus on sex chromosomes, which so far have been neglected. Another implication of this study is that intelligence has continued to evolve after different human populations migrated out of Africa and possibly up to the 19th century, as suggested by the substantial variability in sex differences even between neighbouring countries.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.257-263
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• 2008

Improvement of the macro- and micro-elements density of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is gradually becoming a new breeding objective. In this study, the genomic regions associated with potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron content in rice grain were identified and characterized by using a doubled haploid (DH) population. Fifty-six simple sequence repeat (SSR) and one hundred and twelve sequence tagged site (STS) markers were selected to construct the genetic linkage map of the DH population with a full length of 1808.3cM scanning 12 rice chromosomes. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected, and QTL effects and QTL interactions were calculated for five traits related to macro- and micro-elements in the DH population from a cross between 'Samgang' (Tongil) and 'Nagdong' (Japonica). Twelve QTLs were located on five chromosomes, consisting of two QTLs for potassium, three QTLs for calcium, two QTLs for magnesium, one QTL for iron content and four QTLs for the ratio of magnesium to potassium (Mg/K). Among them, qca1.1 was detected on chromosome 1 with an LOD value of 8.58 for calcium content. It explained 27% of phenotype variations with increasing effects from 'Samgang' allele. Furthermore, fifteen epistatic combinations with significant interactions were observed on ten chromosomes for five traits, which totally accounted for 4.19% to 12.72% of phenotype variations. The screening of relatively accurate QTLs will contribute to increase the efficiency of marker-assisted selection (MAS), and to accelerate the establishment of near-isogenic lines (NILs) and QTL pyramiding.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.51-54
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• 2007

Soybean has a morphological type with a broadened and flattened stem. Fasciation has been suggested as a new gene for soybean research. SSR marker linked to the $\Large f$ locus that controls fasciation phenotype has not identified within 10 cM. A mapping population consisting of 94 $F_2$ progenies was derived from a cross between wild type Clark (FF) and fasciation mutant C32 (${\Large f}{\Large f}$). The phenotype of $F_2$ individual plants was recorded at R2 and R3 growth stage from field. One-thousand 10-mer oligonucleotide RAPD primers and 29 SSR primers selected from the D1b+W of the soybean molecular linkage map were used. A genetic map was constructed from the segregating 35 RAPD, four SSR markers and one phenotypic(wild type/fasciation) marker. The segregation ratios of 3 : 1 observed in the $F_2$ population and the Chi-square values strongly suggest that the fasciation trait is controlled by a single recessive gene. Satt537 marker was linked to $\Large f$ locus at a distance of 9.6 cM. Assignment of the $\Large f$ locus to linkage group D1b+W and identification of markers can be used as an initial step for fine mapping of the $\Large f$ gene.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.193-199
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• 2002

The arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) are a family of enzymes that N-acetylate mylhydrazines and arylamines through transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl coenzyme A. This activity was found to vary among individuals as a Mendalian trait and the basis of the genetic differences in human NAT activity is one of the best of the genetic studied examples of pharmacogenetic variation. The classical N-acetylation polymorphism is regulated at the NAT2 locus, which segregates individuals into rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator phenotypes. In this study, the relationship between NAT2 activity phenotype using HPLC:UV assay for the determination of dapsone and monoacetyldapsone in plasma and NAT2 genotype by PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) was investigated in the F2 hybrid (Fischer 344 vs Wistar-Kyoto) rats. Three Common mutant alleles at the NAT2 gene locus have been identified in the F2 generation progeny of Fischer 344 rats as raid acetylator and Wistar-Kyoto rats as slow acetylator segregated into three modes (low, intermediates, and high) with simple Mendelian inheritance. The metabolic activity of NAT2 of the intermediate and rapid acetylators is significant1y greater than slow acetylator, but the metabolic activity of rapid acetylator is not significantly different from Intermediate type. Therefore, we could observe that complete trimodal NAT2 genotypic alleles and incomplete trimodal NAT2 metabolic phenotypic distribution in tile F2 hybrid rats. These observations suggest that the relationships between NAT2 genotype and metabolic phenotype exists and F2 hybrid (Fischer 344: Wistar-Kyoto) animal models about NAT2 polymorphism might be applied in the toxicity and pharmacogenetic studies of arylamine drugs and carcinogens.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.363-375
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• 2019

Fungal sectorization is a complex trait that is still not fully understood. The unique phenotypic changes in sporadic sectorization in mutants of CpBck1, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) gene, and CpSlt2, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) gene, in the cell wall integrity pathway of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica have been previously studied. Although several environmental and physiological factors cause this sectoring phenotype, genetic variants can also impact this complex morphogenesis. Therefore, RNA sequencing analysis was employed to identify candidate genes associated with sectorization traits and understand the genetic mechanism of this phenotype. Transcriptomic analysis of CpBck1 and CpSlt2 mutants and their sectored progeny strains revealed a number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to various cellular processes. Approximately 70% of DEGs were common between the wild-type and each of CpBck1 and CpSlt2 mutants, indicating that CpBck1 and CpSlt2 are components of the same MAPK pathway, but each component governs specific sets of genes. Functional description of the DEGs between the parental mutants and their sectored progenies revealed several key pathways, including the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, translation, amino acid metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism; among these, pathways for secondary metabolism and translation appeared to be the most common pathway. The results of this comparative study provide a better understanding of the genetic regulation of sector formation and suggest that complex several regulatory pathways result in interplays between secondary metabolites and morphogenesis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.398-407
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• 2018

The Purple pericarp (Prp) trait is a trait often bred for in black rice. Generally, the Prp trait is displayed in the color variations of seeds following the 9:3:4 purple, brown, and white ratio, respectively. The Prp trait is a recessive epistasis of two gene interactions; however, it is caused by the two complementation genes Pb and Pp. Here we present a study of the genetic characteristics of the Prp trait using an $F_1$ hybrid with a Pbpb Pppp genotype. This hybrid generated four seed colors with the following numbers: 3 dark purple, 6 medium purple, 3 brown, and 4 white (or 9 purple, 3 brown, and 4 white). However, further biochemical analysis of the all progenies divided them into two groups. One group had the Pb_ Pp_ allelic constitutions and contained cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) in both the dark purple or medium purple seeds. The other group, however, was absent of C3G in both the brown and white seeds, resulting in a ratio of 9:7, respectively. This segregation revealed the extended Mendelian 9:7 ratios of the complementary gene interactions with a good fitness in ${\chi}^2$ analysis. Further analysis revealed that brown seeds with the Pb_ pppp genotype corresponded with a null C3G, indicating that the Brown pericarp trait in rice is caused by a dominant allele of the Pb gene. Therefore, we conclude that the production of C3G is a main phenotype of the black and purple colored rice in the Prp trait, and it is governed by the complementary gene interactions between Pb and Pp genes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1081-1085
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• 2017

Objective: Previously, we reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting backfat thickness (BFT) traits on pig chromosome 5 (SW1482-SW963) in an F2 intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. The aim of this study was to evaluate glutamate receptor-interacting protein 1 (GRIP1) as a positional candidate gene underlying the QTL affecting BFT traits. Methods: Genotype and phenotype analyses were performed using the 1,105 $F_2$ progeny. A mixed-effect linear model was used to access association between these single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and the BFT traits in the $F_2$ intercross population. Results: Highly significant associations of two informative SNPs (c.2442 T>C, c.3316 C>G [R1106G]) in GRIP1 with BFT traits were detected. In addition, the two SNPs were used to construct haplotypes that were also highly associated with the BFT traits. Conclusion: The SNPs and haplotypes of the GRIP1 gene determined in this study can contribute to understand the genetic structure of BFT traits in pigs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.187-187
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• 2022

Purple-discoloration of the uppermost leaves has been observed in some soybean cultivars in recent years. The purpose of this study was to characterize the novel phenotypic changes between the uppermost and middle leaves via multiple approaches. First, quantitative trait loci mapping was conducted to detect loci associated with the novel phenotype using 85 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of the 'Daepung' × PI 96983 population. 180K SNP data, a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) was identified at around 60 cM of chromosome 6, which accounts for 56% of total phenotypic variance. The genomic interval is about ~700kb, and a list of annotated genes includes the T-gene which is known to control pubescence and seed coat color and is presumed to encode flavonoid 35-hydroxylase (F3'H). Based on Hyperspectral imaging, the reflectance at 528-554 nm wavelength band was extremely reduced in the uppermost leaves compared to the middle (green leaves), which is presumed die to the accumulation of anthocyanins. In addition, purple-discolored leaf tissues were observed and compared to normal leaves using a transmission electronic microscope (TEM). Base on observations of the cell organelles, the purple-discolored uppermost leaves had many pigments formed in the epidermal cells unlike the normal middle leaves, and the cell wall thickness was twice as thick in the discolored leaves. The thickness of the thylakoid layer in the chloroplast the number of starch grains, the size of starch all decreased in the discolored leaves, while the number of plastoglobule and mitochondria increased.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.928-935
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• 2008

The myostatin gene of seven important meat (Beltex (Australia), Beltex$\times$Huyang (F1), Meat and Multi-Prolific Chinese Merino Fine Wool, Meat Chinese Merino Fine Wool and Dorper (South Africa)) and non-meat (Huyang and Kazak) sheep breeds was analyzed to study the genetic basis of muscular hypertrophy (double muscling) phenotype in sheep. SNPs, four in regulatory regions and several in the introns in the myostatin gene, were identified, and the former four SNPs were used for further studies. Twelve haplotypes were predicted by PHASE program, of which four main haplotypes (1, 3, 7, 9) were present in 90% of the 364 sheep in the study. Haplotypes 1-4 were mainly present in meat breeds while haplotypes 7 and 9 dominated the non-meat breeds. The association between haplotypes and average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed among 116 sheep with production data, Haplo2 (CGAA) and Haplo8 (TGAA) were identified to have significant (p<0.05) effect on ADG by the model (JMP5.1 software) taking into account the effects of breed, family background, haplotype, birth weight and sex. ADG of these haplotype groups also correlated well (r = 0.82) with hypertrophic phenotype scores. In conclusion, the mutations -956 (T$\rightarrow$C), -41 (C$\rightarrow$A) and 6223 (G$\rightarrow$A) involved in Haplo2 and 8 may be associated with the double-muscling trait by influencing myostatin function and be suitable markers in selecting meat sheep.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.108-115
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• 2010

Hypertension is the most prevalent disease worldwide and is itself a risk factor for cerebral, cardiac, and renal diseases. The inconsistency of candidate genes suggested by previous genomewide association studies (GWASs) may be due to not only differences in study design and genetic or environmental background but also the difference in the power of analysis between continuous traits and discrete traits. We analyzed 352,228 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8842 unrelated Koreans obtained from Ansan and Ansung cohorts. We performed a series of GWA analyses using three different phenotype models; young hypertensive cases (278 subjects) versus elderly normotensive controls (680 subjects); the upper 25% (2211 hypertensive cases) versus the lower 25% of the SBP distribution (2211 hypotensive controls); and finally SBP and DBP as continuous traits (8842 subjects). The numbers of young hypertensive cases and elderly normotensive controls were not large enough to achieve genomewide significance. The model comparing the upper 25% subjects to the lower 25% of subjects showed a power that was approximate to that of QTL analysis. Two neighboring SNPs of the ATP2B1 gene, rs17249754 (SBP, p=$2.53^{-10}$; DBP, p=$1.28{\times}10^{-8}$) and rs7136259 (SBP, p=$1.30{\times}10^{-9}$; DBP, p=$6.41{\times}10^{-8}$), were associated with both SBP and DBP. Interestingly, a SNP of the RPL6 gene, rs11066280, revealed a significant genomewide association with SBP in men only (p=$3.85{\times}10^{-8}$), and four SNPs located near the MAN2A1 gene showed a strong association with DBP only in elderly men aged 60-70 years (e.g., rs6421827, p=$4.86{\times}10^{-8}$). However, we did not observe any gene variant attaining genomewide significance consistently in the three phenotype models except for the ATP2B1 gene variants. In general, the association signal with blood pressure was stronger in women than in men. Genes identified in GWASs are expected to open the way for prevention, early diagnosis, and personalized treatment of hypertension.