• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.303-308
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• 2007

In order to investigate the relation of production traits and reproduction traits the data from Gyungnam heugdon(Berkshire) were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficients of the reproductive traits including days to first farrowing, days to first breeding and no. of breeding for first litter with back fat thickness were ranged -.24 to -.26. Estimates of heritability and genetic correlation for the reproductive traits including days to first farrowing, days to first breeding and no. of breeding for first litter showed frequent and wide fluctuation due to lack of reproductive records. Pearson correlation coefficients of back fat with litter traits were low, but genetic correlation coefficients were relatively high. Genetic correlation coefficients of back fat with total litter size, pigs born alive, litter weight at birth and litter weight at weaning were .21, .24, .11 and .07 respectively. It suggests that thin back fat thickness deteriorates performance of litter traits. Genetic correlation coefficients of days to 90kg with total litter size, pigs born alive, litter weight at birth and litter weight at weaning were .14, .17, .09 and .00 respectively. This result imply that genetic improvement on the production traits reduce the litter trait performance.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2015

Amphiregulin (AREG), a glycoprotein that is a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, is expressed by the porcine conceptus and endometrium. AREG genotypes were determined based on an SNP in the intron 3 of the gene. Contradictory effects of AREG genotypes on reproductive traits in different pig breeds were reported previously. G allele had undesirable effect on reproductive trait in Meishan breed, while it had favorable effects in Polish Landrace and Large White. We determined AREG genotypes of 179 pigs including the Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, Korean native pig (KNP), and Meishan breeds. Two new SNPs were identified near the previously reported SNP in the intron 3 of AREG. Frequencies of AREG alleles among the Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, and KNP sows were significantly different (p<0.001), indicating association between AREG genotypes and pig breeds. The first parity litter size was significantly affected by the breeds (p=0.014), but not by AREG genotypes (p=0.148). However, there were breed and AREG genotype associated trends in the first parity litter size. The first parity litter size appeared to be higher in Duroc and KNP sows with G allele, while it appeared to be lower in Landrace sows with G allele. Significant variability of AREG alleles among pig breeds, for the first time in Duroc and KNP sows, was identified. AREG genotypes may influence reproductive traits differentially for each breed and thus, AREG genotypes may need to be considered when sows are bred to increase litter size.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.739-743
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• 2011

The aim of this paper was to estimate genetic parameters for body weight and five body measurements for an experimental population of Iranian Makooei sheep maintained at the Makooei Sheep Breeding Station at Makoo, Iran. To do this, yearling live weight (YW), and five body measurements, i.e., body length (BL), heart girth (HG), height at withers (HW), height at back (HB) and scrotal circumference (SC), were analyzed in a multi-trait animal model using the DXMUX program of DFREML software package. Heritability estimates were $0.22{\pm}0.08$, $0.11{\pm}0.06$, $0.21{\pm}0.07$, $0.17{\pm}0.06$, $0.17{\pm}0.06$ and $0.32{\pm}0.10$ for YW, BL, HG, HW, HB and SC, respectively. These estimates indicate that selection in Makooei sheep would generate moderate genetic progress in body weight and body measurements. Scrotal circumference, as an indicator of reproductive potential, exhibited the highest heritability. This trait, therefore, could successfully be used to increase productivity of males and, indirectly, female fertility. Genetic correlations between traits studied were all positive and ranged from 0.15 (YW/HB) to 0.99 (HW/HB). Phenotypic correlations were also positive and ranged from moderate (0.32, HW/SC) to high (0.94, HW/HB). Positive genetic and phenotypic correlations indicate that improvement in body measurements both at the genetic and phenotypic levels is expected through selection on body weight and vice versa.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.789-793
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• 2003

An investigation was conducted on 729 Hariana cows maintained at Government Livestock Farm, Hisar, from 1973 to 1999, with an objective to compare the efficiency of various selection indices for attaining desired genetic gains in the index traits. The various traits included were age at first calving (AFC), service period (SP), calving interval (CI), days to first service (DFS), number of services per conception (NSPC), lactation milk yield (LY), peak yield (PY), dry period (DP). Except for LY, PY and AFC the heritabilities of all other traits were low. Desirable associations among reproductive traits are supportive of the fact that any one of these traits incorporated in simultaneous selection is expected to cause correlated response in other traits. Production traits (LY and PY) were positively correlated, while DP had low negative genetic correlation with LY, and high genetic correlation with PY. Thus, DP can be taken as additional criteria in selection index for better over all improvement. Almost all production traits except DP had low negative correlation with AFC, SP, DFS and CI meaning that reduction in reproduction traits up to certain level may increase production performance. While, the correlation of NSPC with LY and PY was moderate positive. Among four trait indices I23: incorporating PY, AFC, SP and NSPC and among three trait indices I1: incorporating LY, AFC and SP were the best as these required least number of generations (4.87 and 1.35, respectively) to attain desired goals. Next in order of preference were PY or LY along with DP and SP as the best indices (I20 and I16) of which, index with PY may be preferred instead of LY as it produced considerably high correlated response in LY and reduction in NSPC as well.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.366-373
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• 2024

This study aims to estimate the connectedness rating (CR) of Korean swine breeding herds. Using 104,380 performance and 83,200 reproduction records from three swine breeds (Yorkshire, Landrace and Duroc), the CR was estimated for two traits: average daily gain (ADG) and number born alive (NBA) in eight breeding herds in the Republic of Korea (hereafter, Korea). The average CR for ADG in the Yorkshire breed ranges from 1.32% to 28.5% depending on the farm. The average CR for NBA in the Yorkshire herd ranges from 0% to 12.79%. A total of 60% of Yorkshire and Duroc herds satisfied the preconditions suggested for genetic evaluation among the herds. The precondition for the genetic evaluation of CR for ADG, as a productive trait, was higher than 3% and that of NBA, as a reproductive trait, was higher than 1.5%. The ADG in the Yorkshire herds showed the highest average CR. However, the average CR of ADG in the Landrace herds was lower than the criterion of the precondition. The prediction error variance of the difference (PEVD) was employed to assess the validation of the CR, as PEVDs exhibit fluctuations that are coupled with the CR across the herds. A certain degree of connectedness is essential to estimate breeding value comparisons between pig herds. This study suggests that it is possible to evaluate the genetic performance together for ADG and NBA in the Yorkshire herds since the preconditions were satisfied for these four herds. It is also possible to perform a joint genetic analysis of the ADG records of all Duroc herds since the preconditions were also satisfied. This study provides new insight into understanding the genetic connectedness of Korean pig breeding herds. CR could be utilized to accelerate the genetic progress of Korean pig breeding herds.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.187-190
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for total number of born (TNB), number of born alive (NBA) and teat numbers (TN) of Landrace and Yorkshire breeds in Korean swine population using multiple trait animal model procedures. Total numbers of 4,653 records for teat numbers and 8,907 records for TNB and NBA collected from 2004 to 2008 on imported breeding pigs and their litter size records were used in this study. To find the appropriate model for estimation of genetic parameters (heritabilities and genetic correlations), five statistical models (two models for reproductive traits, two models for teat numbers, one model for combining these traits) considering only direct additive genetic effects, including maternal effects were used and Akaike information criteria (AIC) of each two models for reproductive traits and teat trait were compared. The means and standard deviations of TNB, NBA, and TN were $11.52{\pm}3.34$, $10.55{\pm}2.96$ and $14.30{\pm}0.83$, respectively. Estimated heritabilities for TNB and NBA traits using the model which considered only additive genetic effect were low (0.06 and 0.05, respectively). However, estimated heritabilities considering maternal genetic effects were a little bit higher than that of the model considering only additive genetic effect (0.09 for TNB and NBA, respectively). Estimated heritability for TN using the model which considered only additive genetic effect was 0.40. However, estimated heritability of direct genetic effects from a model considering maternal genetic effect was high (0.60). All results of AIC statistics, the models considering maternal effect was more appropriate than the models considering only additive genetic effect. Genetic correlations of direct additive genetic effect between litter size (TNB, NBA) and teat numbers were low (-0.18 and -0.14, respectively). However, genetic correlations of maternal effect between litter size (TNB, NBA) and teat numbers were a little bit higher than those of direct additive genetic effect (0.08 and 0.16, respectively).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.25-25
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• 2022

Drought becomes frequent and severe because of continuous global warming, leading to a significant loss of crop yield. In soybean (Glycine max [L.]), most of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses for drought tolerance have conducted by investigating yield changes under water-restricted conditions at the reproductive stages. More recently, the necessity of QTL studies to use physiological indices responding to drought at the early growth stages besides the reproductive ones has arisen due to the unpredictable and prevalent occurrence of drought throughout the soybean growing season. In this study, we thus identified QTLs conferring wilting scores and moisture contents of soybean subjected to drought stress in the early vegetative stage using an recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Taekwang (drought-sensitive) and SS2-2 (drought-tolerant). For the two traits, the same major QTL was located on chromosome 10, accounting for up to 11.5% of phenotypic variance explained with LOD score of 12.5. This QTL overlaps with a reported QTL for the limited transpiration trait in soybean and harbors an ortholog of the Arabidopsis ABA and drought-induced RING-D UF1117 gene. Meanwhile, one of important features of plant drought tolerance is their ability to limit transpiration rates under high vapor pressure deficiency in response to mitigate water loss. However, monitoring their transpiration rates is time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, only a few population-level studies regarding transpiration rates under the drought condition have been reported so far. Via employing an Arduino-based platform, for the reasons addressed, we are measuring and recording total pot weights of soybean plants every hour from the 1^st day after water restriction to the days when the half of the RILs exhibited permanent tissue damage in at least one trifoliate. Gradual decrease in moisture of soil in pots as time passes refers increase in the severity of drought stress. By tracking changes in the total pot weights of soybean plants, we will infer transpiration rates of the mapping parents and their RILs according to different levels of VPD and drought stress. The profile of transpiration rates from different levels of severity in the stresses facilitates a better understanding of relationship between transpiration-related features, such as limited maximum transpiration rates, to water saving performances, as well as those to other drought-responsive phenotypes. Our findings will provide primary insights on drought tolerance mechanisms in soybean and useful resources for improvement of soybean varieties tolerant to drought stress.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.975-984
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• 2021

Objective: Inbreeding depression of reproduction is a major concern in the conservation of native chicken genetic resources. Here, based on the successful development of strongly inbred (Sinb) and weakly inbred (Winb) Langshan chickens, we aimed to evaluate inbreeding effects on reproductive traits and identify candidate genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens. Methods: A two-sample t-test was performed to estimate the differences in phenotypic values of reproductive traits between Sinb and Winb chicken groups. Three healthy chickens with reproductive trait values around the group mean values were selected from each of the groups. Differences in ovarian and hypothalamus transcriptomes between the two groups of chickens were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results: The Sinb chicken group showed an obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, especially for traits of age at the first egg and egg number at 300 days (p<0.01). Furthermore, 68 and 618 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the hypothalamus and ovary between the two chicken groups, respectively. In the hypothalamus, DEGs were mainly enriched in the pathways related to vitamin metabolism, signal transduction and development of the reproductive system, such as the riboflavin metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways, including stimulated by retinoic acid 6, serpin family F member 1, secreted frizzled related protein 2, Wnt family member 6, and frizzled class receptor 4 genes. In the ovary, DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with basic metabolism, including amino acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycosaminoglycan degradation. A series of key DEGs involved in folate biosynthesis (gamma-glutamyl hydrolase, guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1), oocyte meiosis and ovarian function (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1, structural maintenance of chromosomes 1B, and speedy/RINGO cell cycle regulator family member A), spermatogenesis and male fertility (prostaglandin D2 synthase 21 kDa), Mov10 RISC complex RNA helicase like 1, and deuterosome assembly protein 1) were identified, and these may play important roles in inbreeding depression in reproduction. Conclusion: The results improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression in chicken reproduction and provide a theoretical basis for the conservation of species resources.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.20-32
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• 1995

Adult diapause in insects is characterized by suppression of reproductive development. It is induced by environmental cues such as photoperiod, temperature, food availability, and other conditions Diapause-inducing environment is recognized and analyzed by the brain of the insects. The interpreted information is conveyed via endocrine system to target tissues such as ovaries, fat body, and other tissues. From this signal hierarchy of a brain-endocrine-target tissue axis, several factors are involved to express a diapause trait in a quantitative mode, even though the insects show a binomial phenotye between being in diapause or not. Recent works estimated that the number of the factors is relatively small by a series of crossing trials between high and low diapause lines. Heritability of the diapause is quite high (ca. 70%) in some species. Epistasis, sex-linkage, pleiotropism, and other nongenetic components also affect diapause inheritance. Most physiological studies have been focused on control mechanisms of the juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis in corpora allata (CA) because JH level in hemolymph of teneral adults is critical to decide a later developmental mode. Allatostatin, an antagonizer of JH synthesis, has been believed to be a potent brain message to CA for adult diapause induction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1388-1393
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• 2015

Genetic parameters of Berkshire pigs for reproduction, carcass and meat quality traits were estimated using the records from a breeding farm in Korea. For reproduction traits, 2,457 records of the total number of piglets born (TNB) and the number of piglets born alive (NBA) from 781 sows and 53 sires were used. For two carcass traits which are carcass weight (CW) and backfat thickness (BF) and for 10 meat quality traits which are pH value after 45 minutes (pH45m), pH value after 24 hours (pH24h), lightness in meat color (LMC), redness in meat color (RMC), yellowness in meat color (YMC), moisture holding capacity (MHC), drip loss (DL), cooking loss (CL), fat content (FC), and shear force value (SH), 1,942 pig records were used to estimate genetic parameters. The genetic parameters for each trait were estimated using VCE program with animal model. Heritability estimates for reproduction traits TNB and NBA were 0.07 and 0.06, respectively, for carcass traits CW and BF were 0.37 and 0.57, respectively and for meat traits pH45m, pH24h, LMC, RMC, YMC, MHC, DL, CL, FC, and SH were 0.48, 0.15, 0.19, 0.36, 0.28, 0.21, 0.33, 0.45, 0.43, and 0.39, respectively. The estimate for genetic correlation coefficient between CW and BF was 0.27. The Genetic correlation between pH24h and meat color traits were in the range of -0.51 to -0.33 and between pH24h and DL and SH were -0.41 and -0.32, respectively. The estimates for genetic correlation coefficients between reproductive and meat quality traits were very low or zero. However, the estimates for genetic correlation coefficients between reproductive traits and drip and cooking loss were in the range of 0.12 to 0.17 and -0.14 to -0.12, respectively. As the estimated heritability of meat quality traits showed medium to high heritability, these traits may be applicable for the genetic improvement by continuous measurement. However, since some of the meat quality traits showed negative genetic correlations with carcass traits, an appropriate breeding scheme is required that carefully considers the complexity of genetic parameters and applicability of data.