• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.61-71
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• 1989

The purposes of this study were to investigate the genetic variations by backcrossing in commercial chickens. Backcrossing was carried out successively back to parent stock (P.S). Heritabilities and genetic correlation coefficients were estimated to verify the genetic variations. The data obtained from a breeding programme with commercial chickens (I strain) were collected from 1955 to 1987 at Poultry Breeding Farm, Seoul National University. Data came from a total of 1230 female offspring. The results obtained are summarized as follows： 1. The general performance ($Mean\pmStandard deviation$) of each trait was $663.94\pm87.11$g for 8 weeks body weight, $1579.1\pm155.43$g for 20 weeks body weight, $2124.1\pm215.3$g for 40 weeks body weight, $2269.1\pm242.94$g for 60 weeks body weight, $168.43\pm12.94$ day for a9e at sexual maturity (SM), $214.52\pm29.82$ eggs , for total egg number to 60 weeks of age (TEN), $61.45\pm3.48$ g for average weight (AEW), $13180.7\pm1823.22$ g for total egg mass to 60 weeks of age(TEM). All traits, except 10 weeks body weight and AEW, were significant for the degrees of backcross (p＜0.01). 2. The pooled estimates of heritabilities derived from the sire, dam and combined variance components were 0.47~0.52 for age at sexual maturity (SM), 0.07~0.37 for total egg number (TEN), 0.40~0.54 for average egg weight (AEW), 0.18~0.27 for total egg mass (TEM). High heritability estimates were found for SM and AEW. TEN and TEM were estimated to be a lowly heritable traits. Heritability estimates from dam components were higher than those from sire components. These differences might be due to non-additive genetic effect and maternal effect. 3. The estimates of heritabilities and standard errors derived from combined variance components for different degrees of backcross were $0.47\pm0.11$ (BCO), $0.42\pm0.16$ (BC1), $0.51\pm0.29$ (BC2) for TEN, $0.59\pm0.20$ (BCO), $0.43\pm0.17$ (BC1), $0.35\pm0.18$ (BC2) for AEW, $0.28\pm0.12$(BC0), $0.20\pm0.11$(BC1), $0.18\pm0.14$ (BC2) for TEM. Heritability estimates for AEW and TEM were decreased by backcrossing while those for SM and TEN remained constant. Since backcrossing contributes to increased homozygosity, the genetic variation of the traits (AEW and TEM) decreased . 4. The pooled estimates of genetic correlation coefficients were -0.55 between SM and TEN, 0.20 between SM and AEW, -0.29 between TEN and AEW, 0.82 between TEM and TEN, 0.31 between TEM and AEW, -0.42 between TEM and SM. The genetic correlation between TEM and TEN was higher than that between TEM and AEW, and it was suggested that egg mass was strongly affected by egg number. Also, age at sexual maturity(SM) contributes to egg mass(TEM). 5. When backcrossing was carried out successively, the genetic correlation between TEM and TEN increased (BC0：0.79, BC1：0.82, BC2：0.91) but those between TEM and SM decreased (BC0：-0.54, BC1：-0.36, BC2：-0.09) with successive backcrosses.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1258-1265
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• 2007

Metabolizable energy (ME) required for basal metabolism, activity and growth was considered as the criterion for targeting specific increases in body weight (100 g/week) of broiler chicks during the grower phase (5-20 weeks) and its impact was evaluated on breeder performance. Broiler female chicks (460) from a synthetic dam line were randomly distributed to 4 test groups with 23 replicates of 5 birds each and housed in cages. The first group (ME-100) was offered a calculated amount of ME by providing a measured quantity of grower diet (160 g protein and 2,600 kcal ME/kg) which increased with age and weight gain (133-294 kcal/bird/day). The other three groups were offered 10 or 20% less ME (ME-90 and ME-80, respectively) and 10% excess ME (ME-110) over the control group (ME-100). From 21 weeks of age, a single breeder diet (170 g protein and 2,600 kcal ME/kg) was uniformly fed to all groups and the impact of grower ME restriction on breeder performance evaluated up to 58 weeks. The targeted body weight gain of 1,600 g in a 16-week period was achieved by pullets of the ME-100 group almost one week earlier by gaining 8.7 g more weight per week. However, pullets in the ME-90 group gained 1,571 g during the same period, which was closer to the targeted weight. At 20 weeks of age, the conversion efficiency of feed (5.21-5.37), ME (13.9-14.1 kcal/g weight gain) and protein (0.847-0.871 g/g weight gain), eviscerated meat yield, giblet and tibia weights were not influenced by ME restriction, but the weights of abdominal fat and liver were higher with increased ME intake. Reduction of ME by 10% in the grower period significantly delayed sexual maturity (169.3 d), but increased egg production (152.5 /bird) with better persistency. Improved conversion efficiency of feed, ME and protein per g egg content were also observed in this group up to 56 weeks. The fertility and hatchability at 58 weeks of age were higher in the ME-90 group compared to the control and 10% excess ME feeding. In conclusion, the present study revealed the possibility of achieving targeted weight gain in broiler growers by feeding measured quantities of ME during the rearing period with consequential benefits in breeder performance.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.247-252
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• 2010

This study was carried out between 2008 and 2009 in four dairy farms to investigate the effect of feeding of whole crop barley silage on the reproductive performance of Holstein heifers. Two diets, mixed hay or whole crop barley silage separately from concentrate were fed 6-month old Holstein heifers (=37). In control group (=CON), heifers (n=16) were fed 6 kg (/head) mixed hay and 4 kg (/head) commercial diet. In whole crop barley silage group (=WBS), heifers (n=21) were fed 10 kg (/head) whole crop barley silage, 4 kg (/head) mixed hay and 2 kg (/head) commercial diet. To manage body weight gain, the body condition score of heifers were measured every month. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Body weight in CON and WBS heifers at 13-, 14-, 15- and 17-month old were $340{\pm}17.9$ and $342{\pm}13.6\;kg$, $356{\pm}15.7$ and $366{\pm}14.7\;kg$, $382{\pm}13.1$ and $387{\pm}14.4\;kg$, and $429{\pm}15.0$ and $417{\pm}10.3\;kg$, respectively. 2. Body condition score in CON and WBS heifers at 9-, 12-, 15- and 17-month old were $2.88{\pm}0.04$ and $2.80{\pm}0.04$, $2.88{\pm}0.04$ and $2.80{\pm}0.04$, $2.89{\pm}0.08$ and $3.00{\pm}0.07$, and $2.89{\pm}0.08$ and $3.00{\pm}0.07$, respectively. 3. Average age of sexual maturity in CON and WBS heifers were $437.3{\pm}9.9$days and $939.6{\pm}12.5$days, WBS group heifers were significantly shorter (p<0.05) than CON group heifers. 4. First-service conception rates in CON or WBS group were 81.3% (13/16) and 66.7% (14121), respectively, and cumulative conception rate to 2nd artificial insemination were 87.5% for CON and 85.7% for WBS group. Conception rate was not different between treatments.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.113-123
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• 1992

This study was carried out to build up new synthetic egg Production lines which had sex linked gene for feather color sexing and had also superior combining ability for producing the best commercial chicks. In order to make autosexing layer line, the commercial layers which had Z$^{s}$ Z$^{s}$ and Z$^{s}$ W were mated. Among progeny, the chicks which had homozygote of silver gene and non-silver gene were selected for making dam and sire lines. Afterwards the closed flock breeding method was utilized to improve general performances of the each line. The performances of egg production in synthetic line were 161 day for age at sexual maturity, 219 eggs for total egg number to 60 weeks of age, 84% for hen-day egg production and 619 for average egg weight. There was no difference in egg production between new synthetic lines and imported breeds. In the analysis of genetic trends, the estimates of genetic parameter in the autosexing lines were similar to those of the general population of layer breeders. This results indicated the consistency of genetic variation from this selection.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 2008

Lentiviral vector system is efficient vehicles for the delivery of exogenous genes, and it is generally used in the generation of transgenic chickens. In this study, we used recombinant lentiviral vectors to generate transgenic chicks that express the human superoxide dismutase-3 gene driven by the chicken ovalbumin promoter. It is well known that superoxide dismutases(SODs) are believed to play a crucial role in protecting cells against oxygen toxicity. There are three forms of SOD proteins: cytosolic Cu-Zn SOD, mitochondrial Mn SOD, and extracellular SOD(SOD-3). The recombinant lentivirus containing the human SOD-3 gene was injected into the subgerminal cavity of freshly laid eggs. Subsequently, the embryos were incubated to hatch using phases II and III of the surrogate shell ex vivo culture system. From 341 injected embryos, the 78 chicks hatched after 21 days incubation. The hatched chicks were screened for the human SOD-3 gene by using PCR. Two of 47 male chickens that survived to sexual maturity contained the human SOD-3 gene in their semen. These results showed that our transgenic chicken generation system was completely established.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.31.1-31.12
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• 2019

Background: The black-chinned tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron, is the most abundant fish species in the Nakwa (an open lagoon) and Brenu (a closed lagoon) in the Central Region of Ghana. Aspects of the life history characteristics and the ecology of the fish populations in both lagoons were studied to assess the bio-ecological status of this important resource. Methods: Fish samples were obtained from fishermen that fish on the Nakwa and Brenu lagoons using cast, drag and gill nets. The age of the fish was assessed from otoliths analysis and its growth modelled following the von Bertalanffy growth function. Morphometric characteristics of the fish populations were analysed using power regression and ANOVA for parameters comparisons, and Student's t test to determine whether species grew isometrically. The percentage occurrence method was used to analyse the stomach contents of the fish. Results: A total of 382 fish samples from both lagoons were measured, comprising 209 from Nakwa lagoon and 176 from Brenu lagoon. The size and weight of fish samples ranged between 3.9-11.5 cm total length and 1.0-27.3 g for Nakwa Lagoon and 5.6-12.8 cm total length and 3.2-29.8 g for the Brenu Lagoon. The estimated von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 12.04 cm and K = 2.76/year for the Nakwa Lagoon samples and L∞ = 13.44 cm and K = 3.27/year for Brenu Lagoon samples. Daily otolith incremental rate ranged from 0.01-0.03 mm per day to 0.01-0.02 mm per day for Nakwa and Brenu lagoons, respectively. Stomach content analysis of the fish samples revealed that the species are planktivorous and the range of food varied between the lagoons. Green algae were the most prevalent food item in the stomachs of the fish samples from Nakwa with the frequency of 69% whilst diatoms (80.5%) were most prevalent phytoplanktonic food item for the fish in Brenu lagoon. Conclusions: The estimates of asymptotic length for the species in both lagoons are close to known values of the species length at first sexual maturity and points to intensive fishing pressure. As a consequence, a comprehensive sample-based survey is required in both lagoons to derive estimates of management reference points. The results of the stomach content analysis are beneficial to the construction of diet matrix for ecosystem models of the two systems.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1479-1484
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• 2005

A study was conducted to determine the effects of restricted feeding and feed form on the growth performance, characteristics of carcass and digestive tract, and days to first egg of Japanese quail (JQ, Coturnix coturnix japonica). A total of 240 oneweek-old JQ chicks were allocated randomly into 4 experimental groups that consisted of 3 replicates according to a 2${\times}$2 factorial arrangement for two feeding methods (ad libitum, AF and restricted feeding, RF) and two diet forms (mash, MD and crumble, CD). The JQ chicks were placed in a room with floor battery brooders and fed a commercial starter diet from 7 to 14 d of age. According to the experimental design, four treatments (1: ad libitum MD, 2: restricted MD, 3: ad libitum CD, and 4: restricted CD) were applied. Feed restriction was applied by 30% reduction of ad libitum feed intake for both MD and CD from 15 to 28 d of age. All birds were fed ad libitum with treatment diets from 29 d of age until the first laid egg seen (45 d of age). The commercial starter diet, MD and CD were in the same nutrient content (240 g crude protein with 13.4 MJ ME per kg diet). The body weight and overall feed conversion ratio (g feed/g gain) were higher (p<0.05) for the AF quails than the RF at 42 d of age. Carcass weights, dressing percentage and percentage yields of breast and back were similar for AF and RF groups at 42 d of age. The RF delayed (p<0.05) onset of egg production 2 days compared to the AF. Quail fed with the CD showed higher value (p<0.05) for carcass weight and dressing percentage at 42 d of age compared to birds fed with the MD. The interaction effect of feeding method${\times}$feed form on any of the studied parameters was not significant. The results suggest that feed restriction as in the present study can achieve a better feed conversion without reduction in carcass weight, and a significant benefit of feeding the crumble diet over the mash diet was obtained in terms of carcass weight in the JQ.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.413-431
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• 1992

Gonadal development, fertilization and egg development in the maternal body and reproductive cycle of ovoviviparous rockfish, Sebastes inermis, were investigated histologically. Gonadosomatic index(GSI) of male and female were increased from September and reached maximum values in December. In the male, GSI decreased from January, but in the female maintained high values till February and decreased from March. Hepatosomatic index(HSI) was related to GSI conversely. In both sex, HSI increased from February and reached maximum in August as the gonad were degenerating and resting, and began to decrease from September as gonad were glowing. This ovoviviparous rockfish copulates in December. Fertilization with sperms maintained between ovulated oocytes in the ovary occurs in January mainly. Egg development in the ovarian cavity and discharging of hatched preiarva occurs from January to February. The reproductive cycle includes the successive stages: Growing(September), Mature (October-November), Ripe and Fertilization(Decembr-Janua), Egg development and Discharging of hatched larva(January-February), Degeneration and Resting(February-August). According to the frequency distribution of egg diameter and histological observation, the ovoviviparous rockfish discharged the prelarva at a time in a spawning season. The sexual maturation is first attained at 2 ages. All females and males reaches first maturity at body length of 17.1cm and 15.1cm respectively. The mean number of the embryos increased with the increase of the total length of female.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2011

The gametogenic cycle, the spawning season and the biological minimum sizes in female and male Protothaca (Notochione) jedoensis were investigated by quantitative statistical analysis. In females, monthly changes in the percents of the follicle areas to the ovarian tissue areas and the percents of the oocyte areas to the ovarian tissue areas increased in February and reached the maximum in April, and then gradually decreased from May to July, with the spawning peak between June and July. In males, monthly changes in the percents of the testicular tissue areas to total tissue areas and the percents of the spermatogenic stage areas to the testicular tissue areas increased in February and reached the maximum in April, and then showed a rapid decrease from May to July. From these data, it is apparent that the number of spawning seasons in female and male P. (N.) jedoensis occurred once a year, from May to July. Therefore, P. (N.) jedoensis in both sexes showed a unimodal gametogenic cycle during the year. Compared the gametogenic cycle by quantitative statistical analysis in 2007 with the previous qualitative results of this species, the results of the gametogenic cycle calculated by quantitative statistical analysis showed some differentiations in the spawning seasons evaluated by the gonad index by qualitative histological analysis. The intervals of the beginning of two spawning seasons showed one month between the results of quantitative and qualitative analyses. The biological minimum sizes (considering to 50% of group sexual maturity) in female and male clams by quantitative analysis of this species are 32.01 mm in shell length in females and 30.58 mm in males, respectively. According to the mean shell length fitted to von Bertalanffy's equation, 30.58 and 32.01 mm in shell length were considered to be two years old. Therefore, we assume that both sexes of this population begin reproduction from two years of age.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.187-195
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• 1992

This study carried out to investigate selection response of pure line population of layer chicken. Data for two layer pure line of Single Comb White Leghorn were collected from 1986 to 1991. Primary selection criteria were egg number to 270 days of age (EN270), egg weight(BW270), body weight (BW270) at 270 days of age and the days of the 1st egg(SM). The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows ; 1. Mean phenotypic values of two strains were decreased by 1.94 day(K), 1.320ay(F) for SM and increased by 0.09g(K), -0.05g(F) for EW 270 and 0.56(K), -0.78(F) for EN270. 2. The ratio of a realized selection differential to expected selection differentials for SM (sexual maturity), EW 270, and BW 270 were not significantly decreased during 5 generations. 3. Heritability were estimated from sib analysis. The means of estimates were 0.28(F), 0.39(K) for BW270, and 0.25(F), 0.29(K) for EN270 and 0.51(F), 0.48(K) for EW270. 4. The genetic gains were estimated by method of selection index in retrospect on the basis of selection differentials. EN270 and EW270 were found to increase by 2.01(F), 2.25(K) and 0.54 (F), 0.65(K) per generation.