• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1219-1227
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• 2014

A whole genome association (WGA) study was carried out to find quantitative trait loci (QTL) for sensory evaluation traits in Hanwoo. Carcass samples of 250 Hanwoo steers were collected from National Agricultural Cooperative Livestock Research Institute, Ansung, Gyeonggi province, Korea, between 2011 and 2012 and genotyped with the Affymetrix Bovine Axiom Array 640K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip. Among the SNPs in the chip, a total of 322,160 SNPs were chosen after quality control tests. After adjusting for the effects of age, slaughter-year-season, and polygenic effects using genome relationship matrix, the corrected phenotypes for the sensory evaluation measurements were regressed on each SNP using a simple linear regression additive based model. A total of 1,631 SNPs were detected for color, aroma, tenderness, juiciness and palatability at 0.1% comparison-wise level. Among the significant SNPs, the best set of 52 SNP markers were chosen using a forward regression procedure at 0.05 level, among which the sets of 8, 14, 11, 10, and 9 SNPs were determined for the respectively sensory evaluation traits. The sets of significant SNPs explained 18% to 31% of phenotypic variance. Three SNPs were pleiotropic, i.e. AX-26703353 and AX-26742891 that were located at 101 and 110 Mb of BTA6, respectively, influencing tenderness, juiciness and palatability, while AX-18624743 at 3 Mb of BTA10 affected tenderness and palatability. Our results suggest that some QTL for sensory measures are segregating in a Hanwoo steer population. Additional WGA studies on fatty acid and nutritional components as well as the sensory panels are in process to characterize genetic architecture of meat quality and palatability in Hanwoo.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1674-1680
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to detect significant SNPs for blood components that were related to immunity using high single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) density panels in a Korean native pig (KNP)${\times}$Yorkshire (YK) cross population. A reciprocal design of KNP${\times}$YK produced 249 $F_2$ individuals that were genotyped for a total of 46,865 available SNPs in the Illumina porcine 60K beadchip. To perform whole genome association analysis (WGA), phenotypes were regressed on each SNP under a simple linear regression model after adjustment for sex and slaughter age. To set up a significance threshold, 0.1% point-wise p value from F distribution was used for each SNP test. Among the significant SNPs for a trait, the best set of SNP markers were determined using a stepwise regression procedure with the rates of inclusion and exclusion of each SNP out of the model at 0.001 level. A total of 54 SNPs were detected; 10, 6, 4, 4, 5, 4, 5, 10, and 6 SNPs for neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, basophil, atypical lymph, immuno-globulin, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-I, respectively. Each set of significant SNPs per trait explained 24 to 42% of phenotypic variance. Several pleiotropic SNPs were detected on SSCs 4, 13, 14 and 15.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1406-1410
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• 2014

Age at first calving is an important trait for achieving earlier reproductive performance. To detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for reproductive traits, a genome wide association study was conducted on the 96 Hanwoo cows that were born between 2008 and 2010 from 13 sires in a local farm (Juk-Am Hanwoo farm, Suncheon, Korea) and genotyped with the Illumina 50K bovine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips. Phenotypes were regressed on additive and dominance effects for each SNP using a simple linear regression model after the effects of birth-year-month and polygenes were considered. A forward regression procedure was applied to determine the best set of SNPs for age at first calving. A total of 15 QTL were detected at the comparison-wise 0.001 level. Two QTL with strong statistical evidence were found at 128.9 Mb and 111.1 Mb on bovine chromosomes (BTA) 2 and 7, respectively, each of which accounted for 22% of the phenotypic variance. Also, five significant SNPs were detected on BTAs 10, 16, 20, 26, and 29. Multiple QTL were found on BTAs 1, 2, 7, and 14. The significant QTLs may be applied via marker assisted selection to increase rate of genetic gain for the trait, after validation tests in other Hanwoo cow populations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1529-1539
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• 2012

A whole genome association (WGA) study was performed to detect significant polymorphisms for meat quality traits in an $F_2$ cross population (N = 478) that were generated with Korean native pig sires and Landrace dams in National Livestock Research Institute, Songwhan, Korea. The animals were genotyped using Illumina porcine 60k SNP beadchips, in which a set of 46,865 SNPs were available for the WGA analyses on ten carcass quality traits; live weight, crude protein, crude lipids, crude ash, water holding capacity, drip loss, shear force, CIE L, CIE a and CIE b. Phenotypes were regressed on additive and dominance effects for each SNP using a simple linear regression model, after adjusting for sex, sire and slaughter stage as fixed effects. With the significant SNPs for each trait (p<0.001), a stepwise regression procedure was applied to determine the best set of SNPs with the additive and/or dominance effects. A total of 106 SNPs, or quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected, and about 32 to 66% of the total phenotypic variation was explained by the significant SNPs for each trait. The QTL were identified in most porcine chromosomes (SSCs), in which majority of the QTL were detected in SSCs 1, 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16. Several QTL clusters were identified on SSCs 12, 16 and 17, and a cluster of QTL influencing crude protein, crude lipid, drip loss, shear force, CIE a and CIE b were located between 20 and 29 Mb of SSC12. A pleiotropic QTL for drip loss, CIE L and CIE b was also detected on SSC16. These QTL need to be validated in commercial pig populations for genetic improvement in meat quality via marker-assisted selection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.322-329
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• 2011

A whole genome association (WGA) study was conducted to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for body conformation traits in Hanwoo cattle. The phenotypes of 497 steers were recorded from the Hanwoo Improvement Center of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Seosan, Korea, and analyzed using the Illumina Bovine 50 k SNP chip. A set of 35,987 SNPs that were available in the Hanwoo population was selected from the chip. After adjustments for the effects of year-season of birth, region and sire, phenotypes were regressed on each SNP using a linear regression model. Three hundred nineteen SNPs were detected for the ten conformation traits (p<0.003). For the significant SNPs, stepwise regression procedures were applied to determine best sets of markers. A total of 72 SNPs were selected (p<0.001), for which the sets of 5, 9, 10, 9, 8, 11, 4, 6, 3 and 7 SNPs were determined for height at withers, rump height, body length, chest depth, chest width, rump length, hip width, thurl width, pinbone width and heart girth, respectively. About 7-26% of the total phenotypic variation was explained by the set of SNPs for each trait. QTL for the conformation traits were harbored on most bovine chromosomes (BTAs). Four SNPs with pleiotropic effects on height at withers and rump height were detected on BTAs 3, 4, 6 and 16. A SNP with pleiotropic effects on chest width and rump length was also detected on BTA10. Two QTL regions, i.e. between 87 and 97 Mb in BTA3 and between 41 and 44 Mb in BTA7, were found, in which SNPs were detected for the five and three conformation traits, respectively. The detected SNPs need to be validated in other Hanwoo populations for commercial application to the genetic improvement of conformation characteristics in Hanwoo via marker-assisted selection (MAS).