• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.324-335
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• 2023

Korea, located in East Asia in the northern hemisphere, is experiencing severe climate changes. Specifically, the heat stress caused by global warming is negatively affecting the dairy sector, including milk production and reproductive performance, as the major dairy cattle Holstein-Friesian is particularly susceptible to heat stress. Here, we collected artificial insemination and pregnancy data of the Holstein and the Jersey cows from a dairy farm from 2014 to 2021 and analyzed the association between the conception rate and the temperature-humidity index, calculated using the data from the closest official weather station. As the temperature-humidity index threshold increased, the conception rate gradually decreased. However, this decrease was steeper in the Holstein breed than in the Jersey one at a temperature-humidity index threshold of 75. To evaluate the effects of heat stress on the oocyte quality, we examined the nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of Holstein (n = 158, obtained from six animals) and Jersey oocytes (n = 123, obtained from six animals), obtained by ovum pick-up. There were no differences in the nuclear maturation between the different conditions (heat stress: 40.5℃, non- heat stress: 37.5℃) or breeds, although the Holstein oocytes seemed to have a lower metaphase II development (p = 0.0521) after in vitro maturation under heat stress conditions. However, we found that the Holstein metaphase II oocytes exposed to heat stress presented more reactive oxygen species and a peripheral distribution of the mitochondria, compared to those of the Jersey cattle. Here, we show that weather information from local meteorological stations can be used to calculate the temperature-humidity index threshold at which heat stress influences the conception rate, and that the Jersey cows are more tolerant to heat stress in terms of their conception rate at a temperature-humidity index over 75. The lower fertility of the Holstein cows is likely attributed to impaired cytoplasmic maturation induced by heat stress. Thus, the Jersey cows can be a good breed for the sustainability of dairy farms for addressing climate changes in South Korea, as they are more resistant to hyperthermia.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.5-11
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• 2023

Rehmannia glutinosa is a perennial herb belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae and is used in traditional oriental medicine. This study was carried out current status of breeding of R. glutinosa, its problems, and the matters to be improved were made. Based on the research data published so far, this study summarized the characteristics of breeds cultivated in Korea and compared and analyzed the status of cultivation area, production, import, and price changes for 15 years from 2008 to 2021. The cultivated area of R. glutinosa is gradually decreasing, and the amount of import is increasing and decreasing repeatedly. Amount of import has declined significantly. There was a lot of disinfection and disposal in the middle of import, and dried Jihwang and Sukjihwang were imported without distinction. R. glutinosa must be cultivated and supplied as a variety desired by the industry, cultivation techniques need to be taught to producers. In order to clearly identify the amount of import, import code of dried Jihwang and Sukjihwang must be classify. In addition, it is necessary to develop and supply harvesting agricultural machines for mechanization. For the stable income of producers, supply control through contract cultivation will ensure stable farm income.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1479-1488
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• 2022

Objective: This work was to determine coat inheritance and evaluate production performance for crossbred pigs from Berkshire×Chenghua (BC) compared with Chinese indigenous Chenghua (CH) pigs. Methods: The coat color phenotypes were recorded for more than 16,000 pigs, and the genotypes of melanocortin 1 receptor (MCIR) gene were identified by sequencing. The reproductive performance of 927 crossbred BC F4 gilts and 320 purebred CH gilts was recorded. Sixty pigs of each breed were randomly selected at approximately 60 days of age to determine growth performance during fattening period, which lasted for 150 days for BC pigs and 240 days for CH pigs. At the end of the fattening period, 30 pigs of each breed were slaughtered to determine carcass composition and meat quality. Results: The coat color of BC pigs exhibits a "dominant black" hereditary pattern, and all piglets derived from boars or sows genotyped E^D1 E^D1 homozygous for MC1R gene showed a uniform black coat phenotype. The BC F4 gilts displayed a good reproductive performance, showing a higher litter and tear size and were heavier at farrowing litter and at weaning litter than the CH gilts, but they reached puberty later than the CH gilts. BC F4 pigs exhibited improved growth and carcass characteristics with a higher average daily live weight gain, lower feed-to-gain ratio, and higher carcass lean meat rate than CH pigs. Like CH pigs, BC F4 pigs produced superior meat-quality characteristics, showing ideal pH and meat-color values, high intramuscular fat content and water-holding capacity, and acceptable muscle-fiber parameters. C18:1, C16:0, C18:0, and C18:2 were the main fatty acids in M. longissimus lumborum in the two breeds, and a remarkably high polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio of ~0.39 was observed in the BC F4 pigs. Conclusion: The BC F4 pigs exhibit a uniform black coat pattern and acceptable total production performance.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1340-1350
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• 2022

Objective: Luxi Black Head sheep (LBH) is the first crossbreed specialized for meat production and was developed by crossbreeding Black Head Dorper sheep (DP) and Small Tailed Han sheep (STH) in the farming areas of northern China. Research on the genomic variations and selection signatures of LBH caused by continuous artificial selection is of great significance for identifying the genetic mechanisms of important traits of sheep and for the continuous breeding of LBH. Methods: We explored the genetic relationships of LBH, DP, and several Mongolian sheep breeds by constructing phylogenetic tree, principal component analysis and linkage disequilibrium analysis. In addition, we analysed 29 whole genomes of sheep. The genome-wide selection signatures have been scanned with four methods: heterozygosity (H_P), fixation index (F_ST), cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) and the nucleotide diversity (𝜃_π) ratio. Results: The genetic relationships analysis showed that LBH appeared to be an independent cluster closer to DP. The candidate signatures of positive selection in sheep genome revealed candidate genes for developmental process (HoxA gene cluster, BCL2L11, TSHR), immunity (CXCL6, CXCL1, SKAP2, PTK6, MST1R), growth (PDGFD, FGF18, SRF, SOCS2), and reproduction (BCAS3, TRIM24, ASTL, FNDC3A). Moreover, two signalling pathways closely related to reproduction, the thyroid hormone signalling pathway and the oxytocin signalling pathway, were detected. Conclusion: The selective sweep analysis of LBH genome revealed candidate genes and signalling pathways associated with developmental process, immunity, growth, and reproduction. Our findings provide a valuable resource for sheep breeding and insight into the mechanisms of artificial selection.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.795-806
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• 2024

Objective: Karan Fries (KF), a high-producing composite cattle was developed through crossing indicine Tharparkar cows with taurine bulls (Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, and Jersey), to increase the milk yield across India. This composite cattle population must maintain sufficient genetic diversity for long-term development and breed improvement in the coming years. The level of linkage disequilibrium (LD) measures the influence of population genetic forces on the genomic structure and provides insights into the evolutionary history of populations, while the decay of LD is important in understanding the limits of genome-wide association studies for a population. Effective population size (N_e) which is genomically based on LD accumulated over the course of previous generations, is a valuable tool for e valuation of the genetic diversity and level of inbreeding. The present study was undertaken to understand KF population dynamics through the estimation of N_e and LD for the long-term sustainability of these breeds. Methods: The present study included 96 KF samples genotyped using Illumina HDBovine array to estimate the effective population and examine the LD pattern. The genotype data were also obtained for other crossbreds (Santa Gertrudis, Brangus, and Beefmaster) and Holstein Friesian cattle for comparison purposes. Results: The average LD between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was r² = 0.13 in the present study. LD decay (r² = 0.2) was observed at 40 kb inter-marker distance, indicating a panel with 62,765 SNPs was sufficient for genomic breeding value estimation in KF cattle. The pedigree-based N_e of KF was determined to be 78, while the N_e estimates obtained using LD-based methods were 52 (SNeP) and 219 (genetic optimization for N_e estimation), respectively. Conclusion: KF cattle have an N_e exceeding the FAO's minimum recommended level of 50, which was desirable. The study also revealed significant population dynamics of KF cattle and increased our understanding of devising suitable breeding strategies for long-term sustainable development.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.1168-1176
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• 2024

Objective: As a charismatic species, cashmere goats have rich genetic resources. In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, there are three cashmere goat varieties named and approved by the state. These goats are renowned for their high cashmere production and superior cashmere quality. Therefore, it is vitally important to protect their genetic resources as they will serve as breeding material for developing new varieties in the future. Methods: Three breeds including Inner Mongolia cashmere goats (IMCG), Hanshan White cashmere goats (HS), and Ujimqin white cashmere goats (WZMQ) were studied. IMCG were of three types: Aerbas (AEBS), Erlangshan (ELS), and Alashan (ALS). Nine DNA samples were collected for each population, and they were genomically re-sequenced to obtain high-depth data. The genetic diversity parameters of each population were estimated to determine selection intensity. Principal component analysis, phylogenetic tree construction and genetic differentiation parameter estimation were performed to determine genetic relationships among populations. Results: Samples from the 45 individuals from the five goat populations were sequenced, and 30,601,671 raw single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained. Then, variant calling was conducted using the reference genome, and 17,214,526 SNPs were retained after quality control. Individual sequencing depth of individuals ranged from 21.13× to 46.18×, with an average of 28.5×. In the AEBS, locus polymorphism (79.28) and expected heterozygosity (0.2554) proportions were the lowest, and the homologous consistency ratio (0.1021) and average inbreeding coefficient (0.1348) were the highest, indicating that this population had strong selection intensity. Conversely, ALS and WZMQ selection intensity was relatively low. Genetic distance between HS and the other four populations was relatively high, and genetic exchange existed among the other four populations. Conclusion: The Inner Mongolia cashmere goat (AEBS type) population has a relatively high selection intensity and a low genetic diversity. The IMCG (ALS type) and WZMQ populations had relatively low selection intensity and high genetic diversity. The genetic distance between HS and the other four populations was relatively high, with a moderate degree of differentiation. Overall, these genetic variations provide a solid foundation for resource identification of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region cashmere goats in the future.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.923-932
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• 2003

This study was carried out to estimate the effects of breed and environment such as sex, test station, test year, test season, parity, initial and final weight on average daily gain, age at 90kg, backfat thickness, feed efficiency, lean percent and selection index on the basis of the performance data collected from 25,790 pigs of Duroc, Yorkshire and Landrace breeds which were performance-tested at the Korea Swine Testing Station from 1991 to 2002. The results obtained in the study are summarized as follows; 1. The means of the major economic traits were estimated as 959.95${\pm}$0.699g for average daily gain, 138.36${\pm}$0.072days for age at 90kg, 1.41${\pm}$0.001cm for backfat thickness, 2.33${\pm}$0.001 for feed efficiency, 56.71${\pm}$0.018% for lean percent and 221.65${\pm}$0.113 for selection index. 2. The effect of breed was statistically significant for all studied traits. Briefly, Duroc showed the best performance for the average daily gain and age at 90kg. Landrace had the best performances for the backfat thickness and lean meat percent. In feed efficiency and selection index, Yorkshire had a better score than other breeds. 3. The least-squares means of female and male for the traits studied were 923.05${\pm}$1.289g and 974.53${\pm}$0.856g for average daily gain, 139.74${\pm}$0.145days and 137.21${\pm}$0.097days for age at 90kg, 1.49${\pm}$0.002cm and 1.39${\pm}$0.002cm for backfat thickness, 2.43${\pm}$0.002 and 2.28${\pm}$0.002 for feed efficiency, 56.43${\pm}$0.034% and 56.81${\pm}$0.023% for lean percent and 211.37${\pm}$0.194 and 224.61${\pm}$0.129 for selection index. Therefore, males were superior to females for all traits examined. 4. The effect of test station was statistically significant for all traits except for selection index. Performances for age at 90kg, backfat thickness, feed efficiency and lean meat percent collected from Test station 2 were higher than those from Test station 1. However, Test station 1 showed better average daily gain. 5. The initial weight and final weight included as a covariate in this study had a significant influence on average daily gain, age at 90kg, backfat thickness, feed efficiency and selection index. From the absolute values of the estimated regression coefficients, it was inferred that the final weight had greater effect for the investigated traits than the initial weight.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.901-910
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• 2003

Using the G-, C-, and NOR-banding techniques, a karyotyping for Korean Native Pig was performed. Blood samples were collected from 50 male Korean Native Pigs that had been bred at the National Livestock Research Institute and then blood cells were prepared from in vitro cultures followed by karyotyping; G-, C-, and NOR-banding patterns of metaphase chromosomes were analyzed. The karyotype of Korean Native Pig is 38, XX or XY which consists of 5 pairs of submetacentric chromosomes(Group I), 2 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes with short p-arm(Group II), 5 pairs of medium metacentric chromosomes(Group III), 6 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes(Group IV) and metacentric X and Y sex chromosomes. On GTG-banding, the Korean Native Pig exhibited a typical and identical banding pattern in each homologous chromosomes. Overall chromosomal morphology and positions of typical landmarks of the Korean Native Pig were virtually identical to those of Committee for the Standardized Karyotype of the Domestic Pig(CSKDP). However, numbers of G-bands of the Korean Native Pig chromosomes were more than those of CSKDP. In chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and X, the Korean Native Pig exhibited more separated bands as compared with CSKDP. In C-banding patterns, although the quantity of heterochromatin was variable in each chromosome, most of the Korean Native Pig chromosomes had heterochromatic C-bands on centromeres. However, the heterochromatic C-band was constantly observed on the whole Y chromosome. In AgNOR staining, the NORs were located at centromeres on the chromosomes 8 and 10. The number of NORs per metaphase ranged from 2 to 4 giving a mean value of 2.13. The number of NORs were distributed on all chromosome pair 10 but not on chromosome 8. The sizes of NORs were also differed between homologous chromosomes 8. Numbers of NORs of Korean Native Pig were significantly higher than those of Yorkshire. The pattern of pig NORs was polymorphic in breeds, individuals and cells, especially on chromosome 8.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.379-386
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• 2007

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the mating system on the retail cut yield and meat quality in pigs. A total of 210 samples were used to estimate meat productivity and meat quality two blocks of two boarlines Duroc (D) and Berkshire (B) were mated to sows of the sowlines Yorkshire×Landrace (YL) and Berkshire (B). Results showed that YLD (YL♀×D♂) and BD (B♀×D♂) had higher percentages of Boston butt and belly than YLB while it has higher percentages of lean meat yield than YLB (YL♀×B♂). There were no significant differences in crude protein and ash content of pork from different breeds (P>0.05). However, YLB and YLD had higher moisture content in loin and Boston butt than BD (P<0.05). The pH of BD was highest in pork loin and belly (P<0.05). There differences in meat yield, pH and moisture content among the genotypes suggested that pork quality might be affected by the lightness and cooking loss. BD was lowest lightness value (CIE L*) and cooking loss in pork loin among the genotypes (P<0.05). The percentage of saturated palmitic acid (C16:0) in Boston butt (P<0.05) of BD had significant lower, while the percentage of unsaturated palmitoleic (C16:1) and oleic acid (C18:1) had higher in pork loin and belly (P<0.05). Drip and marbling score were found significantly different in genotypes and BD had lower drip and higher marbling score in pork loin and belly (P<0.05). The sensory evaluations indicated that the highest overall acceptability in BD was attained. From the results, BD breed had highest meat quality among crossbred pigs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.549-558
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• 2007

C4B and BAT2, assigned to the SLA class III region, were recently reported on relation with human diseases. The primers for RT-PCR and RACE-PCR for CDS analysis of these genes of pig were designed by aligning the CDSs of humans and mice from GenBank. After we amplified and sequenced with these primers and cDNAs, the full-length CDSs of pig were determined. The CDS lengths of C4B and BAT2 were shown as 5226 bp and 6501 bp. In addition, the identities of nucleotide sequences with human and mouse were 76% to 87%, and the identities of amino acids were 72% to 90%. After we carried out the alignment with determined CDSs in this study and pig genomic sequences from GenBank, the primers for cSNP detection in genome were designed in intron regions that flanked one or more exons. Then, we amplified and directly sequenced with genomic DNAs of six pig breeds. Four cSNPs from C4B and three 3 cSNPs from BAT2 were identified. In addition, amino acid substitution occurred in six cSNP positions except for C4248T of C4B. By the Multiplex-ARMS method, we genotyped seven cSNPs with DNA samples used for direct sequencing. We verified that this result was the same as that analyzed using direct sequencing. To demonstrate recrudescence, we performed both direct sequencing and Multiplex-ARMS on two randomly selected DNA samples. The genotype of each sample showed the same result from both methods. Therefore, seven cSNPs were identified from C4B and BAT2 and could be used as the basic data for haplotype analysis of SLA class III region. Moreover, the Multiplex-ARMS method should be powerful for genotyping of genes assigned to the whole SLA region for the xenograft study.