• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.227-234
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• 2023

It has been addressed that heat stress due to high atmospheric temperature during summer in Korea induces impaired release of reproductive hormones, followed by occurring abnormal ovarian cyclicity, lower pregnancy ratio, and reduced litter size. Therefore, the present study attempted to compare seasonal change (spring versus summer) of the ovarian aromatase expression, an enzyme for converting testosterone into estrogen. While serum estrogen level in summer group was significantly lower than that of spring group, testosterone was not different between groups. Consistent with estrogen level, the ovarian aromatase expression in summer at follicular phase was significantly lower than the counterpart of spring. The ovarian aromatase expression was positively related with serum estrogen level significantly (r=0.689; P=0.008) and strongly negative correlation was identified (r=-0.533; P=0.078) with atmospheric temperature. The ovarian aromatase expression was not detected in immature ovarian follicles but specifically localized in the granulosa cell layers in both seasons. However, the aromatase intensity in the granulosa cell layers was stronger in spring than summer. Because testosterone level was not different between groups, it could be concluded that the lower level of estrogen during summer might be derived by not lack of substrate but lower expression of ovarian aromatase by heat stress.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.908-919
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• 2023

Objective: Information about the chemical composition of cassava-based feed ingredients is needed to accurately formulate animal diets. A study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of cassava-based feed ingredients and to test the hypothesis that there is variation in chemical composition among cassava products originating from different South-East Asian countries. Methods: Sources of dried peeled and unpeeled cassava roots, cassava chips, cassava meal, high-ash cassava meal, and cassava residue were used. All samples were analyzed for dry matter, gross energy, nitrogen, amino acids (AA), acid-hydrolyzed ether extract (AEE), ash, minerals, total starch, insoluble dietary fiber, and soluble dietary fiber. Samples of peeled and unpeeled cassava roots, cassava chips, and cassava meal were also analyzed for sugars. Results: High-ash cassava meal had greater (p<0.05) dry matter and ash, but lower (p<0.05) total starch and gross energy than all other cassava products. Peeled cassava roots, unpeeled cassava roots, and cassava chips had greater (p<0.05) total starch than the other cassava-based ingredients. Cassava residue had greater (p<0.05) concentrations of lysine, insoluble dietary fiber, and soluble dietary fiber compared with the other cassava products, but tryptophan and glutamic acid were greater (p<0.05) in peeled cassava roots, cassava chips, and cassava meal samples compared with the other ingredients. Concentration of most minerals was greater (p<0.05) in high-ash cassava meal than in the other cassava products. Conclusion: Cassava-based ingredients sold as peeled roots, unpeeled roots, chips, or meal have chemical compositions that are not different from each other, and peeling has little impact on chemical composition. High-ash cassava meal has lower nutritional quality compared with other cassava products due to low starch and gross energy. The high fiber content in cassava residue makes this ingredient more suitable for ruminants and sows than for younger pigs or poultry.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.333-335
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• 1999

This study was carried out to find out the effect on fertilizing capacity according to sperm concentration of liquid boar semen. Four different doses with various motile sperm cells of 3.0$\times$10$^{9}$ , 2.5$\times$10$^{9}$ , 2.0$\times$10$^{9}$ , and $1.5\times$10$^{9}$ per 80$m\ell$ plastic bottle were inseminated twice 12 h interval after standing estrus in 6,818 sows. Farrowing rate and total piglets per litter were 82.2% and 10.9, respectively, with no significant differences among the other treatments. The presumption of optimal concentration of motile sperm cells in the liquid boar semen was best at 2.0~2.3$\times$10$^{9}$ per dose.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1785-1795
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• 2023

Objective: This study was to estimate heritabilities, additive genetic correlations, and phenotypic correlations between number of piglets born alive (NBA), litter birth weight (LTBW), number of piglets weaned (NPW) and litter weaning weight (LTWW) in different parities of Landrace (L), Yorkshire (Y), Landrace×Yorkshire (LY), and Yorkshire×Landrace (YL) sows in a commercial swine operation in Northern Thailand. Methods: Two models were utilized, a single trait repeatability model (RM) and a multiple trait animal model (MTM). The RM assumed reproductive records from different parities to be repeated values of the same trait, whereas the MTM assumed these records to be different traits. The two models accounted for the fixed effects of farrowing year-season, genetic group of the sow, heterosis, and age at first farrowing, and the random effects of sow, boar, and residual. Results: Heritability estimates from RM were 0.02±0.01 for NBA, 0.10±0.01 for LTBW, 0.04±0.01 for NPW, and 0.11±0.01 for LTWW. Heritability estimates from MTM fluctuated across parities, ranging from 0.04±0.01 in parity 2 to 0.09±0.02 in parity 4 for NBA, 0.07±0.02 in parity 2 to 0.16±0.02 in parity 3 for LTBW, 0.04±0.02 in parity 4 to 0.08±0.01 in parity 1 for NPW, and 0.16±0.02 in parity 1 to 0.20±0.02 in parity 2 for LTWW. Additive genetic correlation estimates from MTM were also variable, ranging from 0.29±0.24 between NBA in parity 1 and NBA in parity 2 to 0.99±0.05 between LTWW in parity 3 and LTWW in parity 4. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the advantage of using MTM for the genetic improvement of reproductive traits in swine and contribute to the development of sustainable swine breeding programs in Thailand.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.939-948
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative traits loci(QTL) for economically important traits such as growth, carcass and meat quality on pig chromosome 6. A three generation resource population was constructed from cross between Korean native boars and Landrace sows. A total of 240 F$_2$ animals were produced using intercross between 10 boars and 31 sows of F$_1$ animals. Phenotypic data including body weight at 3 weeks, backfat thickness, muscle pH, shear force and crude protein level were collected from F$_2$ animals. Animals including grandparents(F$_0$), parents(F$_1$) and offspring(F$_2$) were genotyped for 29 microsatellite markers and PCR-RFLP marker on chromosome 6. The linkage analysis was performed using CRI-MAP software version 2.4(Green et al., 1990) with FIXED option to obtain the map distances. The total length of SSC6 linkage map estimated in this study was 169.3cM. The average distance between adjacent markers was 6.05cM. For mapping of QTL, we used F$_2$ QTL Analysis Servlet of QTL express, a web-based QTL mapping tool(http://qtl.cap.ed.ac.uk). Five QTLs were detected at 5% chromosome-wide level for body weight of 3 weeks of age, shear force, meat pH at 24 hours after slaughtering, backfat thickness and crude protein level on SSC6.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.925-937
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• 2016

In the last few decades, transgenic animal technology has witnessed an increasingly wide application in animal breeding. Reproductive traits are economically important to the pig industry. It has been shown that the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IB (BMPR1B) A746G polymorphism is responsible for the fertility in sheep. However, this causal mutation exits exclusively in sheep and goat. In this study, we attempted to create transgenic pigs by introducing this mutation with the aim to improve reproductive traits in pigs. We successfully constructed a vector containing porcine BMPR1B coding sequence (CDS) with the mutant G allele of A746G mutation. In total, we obtained 24 cloned male piglets using handmade cloning (HMC) technique, and 12 individuals survived till maturation. A set of polymerase chain reactions indicated that 11 of 12 matured boars were transgene-positive individuals, and that the transgenic vector was most likely disrupted during cloning. Of 11 positive pigs, one (No. 11) lost a part of the terminator region but had the intact promoter and the CDS regions. cDNA sequencing showed that the introduced allele (746G) was expressed in multiple tissues of transgene-positive offspring of No.11. Western blot analysis revealed that BMPR1B protein expression in multiple tissues of transgene-positive $F_1$ piglets was 0.5 to 2-fold higher than that in the transgene-negative siblings. The No. 11 boar showed normal litter size performance as normal pigs from the same breed. Transgene-positive $F_1$ boars produced by No. 11 had higher semen volume, sperm concentration and total sperm per ejaculate than the negative siblings, although the differences did not reached statistical significance. Transgene-positive $F_1$ sows had similar litter size performance to the negative siblings, and more data are needed to adequately assess the litter size performance. In conclusion, we obtained 24 cloned transgenic pigs with the modified porcine BMPR1B CDS using HMC. cDNA sequencing and western blot indicated that the exogenous BMPR1B CDS was successfully expressed in host pigs. The transgenic pigs showed normal litter size performance. However, no significant differences in litter size were found between transgene-positive and negative sows. Our study provides new insight into producing cloned transgenic livestock related to reproductive traits.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1267-1272
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and infection status of Salmonella species (spp.) in 25 conventional pig farms by traditional fecal culture and serological methods to develop a Salmonella control program for Korean pig farms. The individual seroprevalence of Salmonella spp. in pigs reared in the 25 pig farms was 83.1% in sows and 6.4-32% in different aged pig groups, with the total seroprevalence 28.4% (141/848). The seroprevalence of the tested pigs increased in accordance with the decrease in maternal antibody and the rearing period on these farms. Of note, all the 25 pig farms contained at least two or more anti-Salmonella antibody-positive sows. In the fecal cultures Salmonella spp. were isolated only in three (12.0%, 3/25) of 16 serologically Salmonella-suspected farms (64.0%, 16/25), showing the limitation of the fecal culture method and the need for serum assays to understand the exact status of Salmonella infection in swine herds, which likely contain subclinically infected pigs or carriers. The results highlight the need to establish a supply system of Salmonella-free gilts for the promotion of a national Salmonella control program on swine farms in Korea. Further studies will be needed to develop an effective monitoring system for the implementation of a national Salmonella control program.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.205-215
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• 2010

Geothermal heat pump system (GHPS) is an energy-efficient technology that use the relatively constant and renewable energy stored in the earth to provide heating and cooling. With the aim of using GHPS as a heating source, it's possibilities of application in farrowing house were examined by measuring environmental assessment and sow's performance. A total of 96 sows were assigned to 2 pig housings (GHPS and conventional housing) with 48 for four weeks in winter season. During the experimental period, indoor maximum temperature in GHPS-housing was measured up to $26.7^{\circ}C$, average temperature could maintain $21.2^{\circ}C$. The mean value of dust levels and $CO_2$, $NH_3$ and $H_2S$ gas emissions were decreased in GHPS-housing compare with those of conventional housing. Litter size, birth weight, parity and weaning weight did not differ between housings. However, feed intake of sow in GHPS-housing was lower than that of conventional housing. In energy consumption for heating, electric power consumption increased in GHPS-housing than the conventional housing, a 2,250 kwh increase, whereas there is no fuel usage for heater in GHPS-housing. Amount of ground water circulated for heating in cold weather for earth heat exchanger was 8.4-12.9 ton per day. In conclusion, GHPS may have environmental benefits and effectiveness of heating in farrowing housing and affect the performance in sows.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.933-942
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• 2006

This experiment was carried out to investigate effects of honeybee venom treatment on the humoral immune response in pigs. Corresponding author : S. K. Cho, Dept. of Animal Sci. Chung-Buk National University, Kaesin-dong, Cheongju, 361-763, Korea. phone : 043-261-2551. E-mail : deercho@chungbuk.ac.kr To investigate effects of natural honeybee venom on the concentration of immunoglobulin G, A, and M, 20 piglets(LY×D) from 3 sows were allocated into two groups bee venom-treated group(10 piglets) and non-treated control(10 piglets). Natural honeybee venom was treated at 0, 3, 6 days after birth and the acupoints were Hai-men(ST-25), Du-kou(CV-8) and Jiao-chao(GV-1) points at 0, 3 days after birth and the regions of castration and tail amputation point at 6 days. Control group was injected 1㎖ of saline to the same site. Concentrations of IgG, A, and M were measured with immunoturbidimetric method at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days after treatment. To investigate the effect of bee venom on the production of antibodies against hog cholera and atrophic rhinitis vaccines that were used as indicator antigens, 40 piglets(LYxD) from 5 sows were grouped as bee venom-treated group (20 piglets) and control group(20 piglets). Natural honeybee venom was treated at 0, 3days(castration, tail amputation) and 21days after birth. The acupoints were Hai-men(ST-25), Du-kou(CV-8) and Jiao-chao (GV-1) points at 0 day, the regions of castration and tail ampution at 3 days and Jiao-chao(GV-1) and Bai-hui(GV-20) points at 21days after birth(weaning). Control group was injected 1ml of saline to the same site. Atrophic rhinitis vaccine was injected twice at 24 and 44 days after birth and hog cholera vaccine was also injected twice at 44 and 64 days after birth. Antibody titers against Bordetella bronchiseptica and hog cholera virus were measured by using tube agglutination and ELISA tests at 24, 34, 44, 54 and 74 days after birth. Concentrations of IgG of treated group were 339.52, 366.48, 296.52, 242.06 and 219.06mg/dl at 0, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after birth, respectively. In contrast, concentrations of IgG in control group were respectively 347.10, 334.14, 243.28, 205.18 and 191.58mg/dl during same periods with treated group. Concentrations of IgG at 0 day was not significantly different between the treated group and control group but treated group were significantly increased by 10.28% at 3 days after birth (P<0.02), 21.88% at 7 days after birth(P<0.01), 18.0% at 14 days after birth(P<0.07) and 14.3% at 21 days after birth(P<0.01). Concentrations of IgA and Ig M were not significantly different. Antibody titers against hog cholera virus were significantly increased by 57.0% at 24 days after birth(P<0.03), 74.6% at 34 days after birth (P<0.006), 48.6% at 44 days after birth(P<0.017), 45.0% at 54 days after birth(P<0.16) and 44.4% at 74 days after birth (P<0.006) in bee venom treated group in comparison with control group. Antibody titers against the Bordetella bronchiseptica was significantly increased in Beevenom treated group as 9.1% (P<0.32) at 24days, 39.7% (P<0.002) at 34days, 31.9% (P<0.02) at 44days, 33.4% (P<0.01) at 54days and 57.3% (P<0.007) at 74 days after birth when compared with those of control group pigs. Collecting together, the results in this study showed that immune responses were increased by treatment of natural honeybee venom to pigs. These results suggested that the treatment of bee venom could be used effectively for the increase of productivity in livestock industry.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.885-890
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• 2003

This study was conducted to estimate the growth curve parameters of 253 heads of F2 population produced by inter-crossing F1 from Korean Native boars and Landrace sows, and to estimate the effects of Leptin receptor gene(LEPR) on their growth characteristics. Growth curve parameters were estimated from nonlinear regression using Gompertz model individually. Average mature weight and average maturing rate estimated were 179.69${\pm}$4.40kg and 0.3103${\pm}$0.0043, respectively. The effect of sex was insignificant for all the parameters estimated from Gempertz model(p〉.05), and the effect of calving group was significant for mature weight and maximum growth rate at inflection point (p〈.05). The effect of LEPR genotype were significant for all the growth curve parameters(p〈.05). According from the results of the least squares means of growth curve parameters by LEPR genotypes, mature weight and point of inflection were highest in genotype AA in which the maturing rate was the lowest, and were lowest in genotype DD in which maturing rate was the highest, reversely.