• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1525-1531
• /
• 2015

Using next-generation sequencing, we conducted a genome-wide scan of selective sweeps associated with selection toward genetic improvement in Thoroughbreds. We investigated potential phenotypic consequence of putative candidate loci by candidate gene association mapping for the finishing time in 240 Thoroughbred horses. We found a significant association with the trait for Ral GApase alpha 2 (RALGAP2) that regulates a variety of cellular processes of signal trafficking. Neighboring genes around RALGAP2 included insulinoma-associated 1 (INSM1), pallid (PLDN), and Ras and Rab interactor 2 (RIN2) genes have similar roles in signal trafficking, suggesting that a co-evolving gene cluster located on the chromosome 22 is under strong artificial selection in racehorses.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.153-158
• /
• 2004

Data containing 14,188 lactation and reproductive records of Korean Holstein cows at first parity distributed across 3,734 herd-year-season groups were analyzed to get genetic (co)variance estimates for milk yield, fat yield, calving ease, and days open. Milk and Fat yields were adjusted to 305 d. Heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated in two different animal models on which were included direct genetic effects (Model 1) and direct+maternal genetic effects (Model 2) using REML algorithms. Milk and fat yields were affected by age at first calving as linear and quadratic. Heritability estimates of direct effects were 0.25 for milk yield, 0.17 for fat yield, 0.03 for calving ease and 0.03 for days open in Model 2. These estimates for maternal effects were 0.05, 0.08, 0.04 and less than 0.01 for each corresponding trait. Milk productions at first lactation were to show genetically favorable correlation with calving ease and days open for direct genetic effects (-0.24 - -0.11). Moreover, calving ease was correlated with days open of 0.30 for direct genetic effects. Correlations between direct and maternal effects for each trait were negatively correlated (-0.63 - -0.32). This study suggested that maternal additive genetic variance would be not ignorable for genetic evaluation of milk production as well as reproductive traits such as calving ease and days open at first parity. Furthermore, difficult calving would genetically influence the next conception.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.61-73
• /
• 2010

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with six physical traits of cooked rice and seven chemical properties of rice grain were identified using a recombinant inbred (RI) population of rice evaluated over 3 years at the National Honam Agricultural Research Institute in Korea. The RI population consisted of 164 lines derived from a cross between Milyang23 and Gihobyeo, and the genetic map consisted of 414 molecular markers. A total of 49 QTL were identified for the 13 physico-chemical properties using composite interval mapping. Of these, 13 QTL were identified for 2 or more years, while 36 were detected in only 1 year. Five QTL were identified over all 3 years and will be useful for marker-assisted improvement of rice grain quality in Korea. The two QTL with the highest LOD scores, adhesiveness1.2 and potassium content7.1, provide a valuable starting point for positional cloning of genes underlying these QTL.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2015

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops with high oil contents and rich nutrient value. The development of a core collection could facilitate easier access to sesame genetic resources for their use in crop improvement programs and simplify the genebank management. The present study was initiated to the development and evaluation of a core collection of sesame based on 5 qualitative and 10 quantitative trait descriptors on 2,751 sesame accessions. The accessions were different countries of origin. About 10.1 percent of accessions were selected by using the power core program to constitute a core collection consisting of 278 accessions. Mean comparisons using t-test, Nei's diversity index of 10 morphological descriptors and correlation coefficients among traits indicated that the existing genetic variation for these traits in the entire collection has been preserved in the core collection. The results from this study will provide effective information for future germplasm conservation and improvement programs in sesame.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to show that patients taking antidepressants significantly respond to Korean medical treatments and M&L psychotherapy. Methods: We treated two patients with Korean medical treatments (acupuncture, moxibustion and Herbal Medicine) and psychotherapy including M&L psychotherapy and Li-Gyeung-Byun-Qi therapy. The patients were diagnosed based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for MDD. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used to evaluate the patients. Results: The following observations were made after treatments: Case 1: the patient showed significant improvement in Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Case 2: the patient showed significant improvement in Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Conclusions: These results suggest that Korean medical treatments and M&L psychotherapy might be effective for treating patients suffering from MDD.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.55 no.5
• /
• pp.549-556
• /
• 2022

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic parameters of growth traits for improvement breeding in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus at the 8^th generation of selective breeding in April 2021. Growth traits such as total length, body weight and condition factor at 11 months of age were measured for 7,508 individuals with confirmed paternity. Data were analyzed using the restricted maximum likelihood method applied to a multiple traits animal model. The effects of sex and family were significantly different across traits (P<0.05). The heritability values of total length, body weight and condition factor were estimated to be high as 0.479, 0.457, and 0.466, respectively. Correlation analysis between phenotypic and breeding values, indicated that the selection accuracy was 75.9-85.2% for all traits. To increase the selection accuracy for parent fish selection, the sex and pedigree characteristics that affect each trait should be considered. Moreover, further improvement of multiple traits can be achieved if the correlation between each trait is appropriately considered.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.151-161
• /
• 2023

Objectives: To examine effect of Korean medical treatment on patients with insomnia and correlations among changes in psychological scales before and after treatment. Methods: Medical records of 38 patients diagnosed with insomnia based on DSM-V who received Korean medical treatment (herbal-medication, acupuncture, Korean psychotherapy) for at least 8 weeks were retrospectively reviewed. Psychological scales including Insomnia Severity Scale (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) were measured every four weeks and analyzed. Results: After eight weeks of treatment, ISI, BDI-II, BAI, STAI-X-1/2, and STAXI-S/T showed statistically significant decreases. Psychological scale pairs that showed a statistically significant correlation were ISI and BDI-IIㆍSTAI-X-1ㆍSTAI-X-2ㆍTA, BDI-II and BAIㆍSTAI-X-1ㆍSTAI-X-2ㆍAX-I, BAI and STAI-X-1ㆍSTAI-X-2ㆍSAㆍTA, STAI-X-1 and STAI-X-2, SA and TA, and TA and AX-I. In women, the improvement of AX-C was high. The improvement in AX-I score was significant when the disease duration was more than one year. A lower pretreatment BAI value predicted a greater decrease in ISI score after treatment. Conclusions: Korean medical treatment including herbal medicine, acupuncture, and Korean psychotherapy was effective in improving insomnia symptoms and accompanying symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and anger. In the future, more in-depth follow-up research is needed on the mechanisms by which various psychological problems (depression, anxiety, anger, etc) cause and worsen insomnia and the psychological symptoms secondary to insomnia.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.27-32
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to estimate the effect of the breed, sire-breeds, farrowing year, farrowing season and parity on number of born alive (NBA), number of weaning (NW) and survival rates of weaning (SRW) in swine. The data were obtained from 46,704 litters of the Landrace, Yorkshire, Duroc and Cross breed farrowed from 1996 to 2005 at 142 GP are registered in Korean Animal Improvement Association (KAIA). There was highly significant effect of breed, sire breed, farrowing year, farrowing season and parity on NBA, NW, SRW (p<0.01). The result of this study could be available to genetic improvement of reproductive traits as a basic reference in Korean pig industry. To achieve the more effective improvement of reproductive traits, additional research such as genetic parameter evaluation should be performed.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.123-132
• /
• 2007

In this review, we discuss the ways in which our understanding of the controls of nitrogen use efficiency applied to crop improvement has been increased through the development of molecular physiology studies using transgenic plants or mutants with modified capacities for nitrogen uptake, assimilation and recycling. More recently, exploiting crop genetic variability through quantitative trait loci and candidate gene detection has opened new perspectives toward the identification of key structural or regulatory elements involved in the control of nitrogen metabolism for improving crop productivity. All together these studies strongly suggest that in the near future nitrogen use efficiency can be improved both by marker-assisted selection and genetic engineering, thus having the most promise for the practical application of increasing the capacity of a wide range of economically important species to take up and utilize nitrogen more efficiently.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1537-1544
• /
• 2015

Meat and carcass quality attributes are of crucial importance influencing consumer preference and profitability in the pork industry. A set of 400 Berkshire pigs were collected from Dasan breeding farm, Namwon, Chonbuk province, Korea that were born between 2012 and 2013. To perform genome wide association studies (GWAS), eleven meat and carcass quality traits were considered, including carcass weight, backfat thickness, pH value after 24 hours (pH24), Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage lightness in meat color (CIE L), redness in meat color (CIE a), yellowness in meat color (CIE b), filtering, drip loss, heat loss, shear force and marbling score. All of the 400 animals were genotyped with the Porcine 62K SNP BeadChips (Illumina Inc., USA). A SAS general linear model procedure (SAS version 9.2) was used to pre-adjust the animal phenotypes before GWAS with sire and sex effects as fixed effects and slaughter age as a covariate. After fitting the fixed and covariate factors in the model, the residuals of the phenotype regressed on additive effects of each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) under a linear regression model (PLINK version 1.07). The significant SNPs after permutation testing at a chromosome-wise level were subjected to stepwise regression analysis to determine the best set of SNP markers. A total of 55 significant (p<0.05) SNPs or quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected on various chromosomes. The QTLs explained from 5.06% to 8.28% of the total phenotypic variation of the traits. Some QTLs with pleiotropic effect were also identified. A pair of significant QTL for pH24 was also found to affect both CIE L and drip loss percentage. The significant QTL after characterization of the functional candidate genes on the QTL or around the QTL region may be effectively and efficiently used in marker assisted selection to achieve enhanced genetic improvement of the trait considered.