본 연구는 Canada에서 수입한 동결정액으로 인공수정된 모돈의 번식성적을 조사하여 동결정액을 이용한 인공수정(동결정액 인공수정)의 효율을 개선할 수 있는 통찰력을 얻기 위해 수행되었다. 이를 위해 A(GGP) 농장에서 2016년 5월과 9월 사이 총 626회의 동결정액 인공수정과 B(GGP) 농장에서 2015년부터 2017년 기간 동안 수행한 총 2,429 동결정액 인공수정의 결과 기록을 분석하였다. A종 돈장에서 동결정액을 썼을 때 총산자수 및 실산자수는 9월 보다 5월에 높았다(p<0.05). B종돈장의 분만율, 총산자수 및 실산자수는 조사연도 간에 차이가 없었다. A종돈장 결과와 B종돈장 결과를 통합하여 분석했을 때, 분만율은 A종돈장이 높았으나(p<0.01) 총산자수와 실산자수는 두 종돈장간에 차이가 없었고, 동결정액 인공수정을 했을 때가 액상정액 인공수정을 했을 때보다 낮았다(동결정액:액상정액 인공수정에 대한 총산자수와 실산자수는 각각 10.9±0.3:13.4±0.1두 및 10.0±0.3:12.0±0.1두 이었음; p<0.01). 결론적으로, 이상의 결과는 동결정액 인공수정이 액상정액 인공수정보다 번식 효율이 낮긴 하지만 연중 적절한 시기에 동결정액 인공수정을 실시하면 번식 효율이 증가될 수도 있음을 시사한다.

ZAR1은 척추동물의 초기 배아 발달에 영향을 미치는 유전자로 알려져 있다. 본 연구는 두록 수퇘지 112두에서 ZAR1 유전자의 SNP을 발굴하고 ZAR1 유전자의 인트론 Single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)과 정액의 운동학적 특성들과의 연관성을 규명하였다. 돼지의 정액 운동학적 특성을 분석하기 위해서 운동성(motility, MOT), 직선운동 속도(straight-line velocity, VSL), 곡선운동 속도(curvilinear velocity, VCL), 평균운동 속도(average path velocity, VAP), 직진성(linearity, LIN), 선형성(straightness, STR), 측두 이동거리(amplitude of lateral head displacement, ALH) 및 머리 진동수(beat cross frequency, BCF)를 측정 하였다. SNP을 탐색하기 위해서 돼지의 혈액에서 genomic DNA를 추출하여 PCR(polymerase chain reaction)을 통해 시퀀싱 분석을 하여 유전자형을 분석하였다. 그 결과 ZAR1의 non-coding 영역인 인트론에서 SNP 3개를 확인 했으며 각 각 인트론 2 영역에서 g.2435T>C, 인트론3 영역에서 g.2605G>A, g.4633A>C 변이를 보였다. g.2435T>C, g.2605G>A는 각 각 MOT(p<0.01)와 VSL(p< 0.05)에서 높은 연관성을 나타냈고 g.4633A>C는 MOT, VCL, VSL, VAP, ALH에서 높은 연관성을 나타냈다(p<0.01). 본 연구 에서는 ZAR1 유전자의 SNP이 돼지 정액의 운동학적 특성들에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 ZAR1이 우수한 수퇘지들에서 번식능력이 높은 개체를 선발할 수 있는 후보유전자로 제시하며 다양한 돼지의 품종과 더 많은 두수를 확보하여 검증연구를 통해 우수한 능력의 수퇘지에서 활력이 좋은 개체를 선발하는 분자마커 연구의 기초자료로 사용이 가능하다.

본 연구는 한우 보증씨수소 844두를 출생년도를 기준으로 8개 집단으로 분류하고, 각 개체들의 친자확인용 유전자 마커정보를 농협경제지주 한우개량사업소 홈페이지에서 제공 받아 유전적 다양성 및 구조 변화 분석에 활용하였다. 한우 보증씨수소 전체 집단의 대립유전자수(number of alleles)의 평균은 10.54개, 기대 및 관측 이형접합율(Hex, Hob)의 평균은 각각 0.764, 0.773, 다형성 정보량 지수(PIC)의 평균은 0.727 그리고 Fis의 평균은 –0.014로 확인되었다. 한우 보증씨수소 집단을 출생년도 별로 구분한 8개 집단의 유전적 다양성 및 구조 분석 결과, D집단(2005-2004년)의 기대이형접합율(0.777), 관측이형접합율(0.792) 그리고 다형성정보지수(0.740)가 가장 높은 것으로 확인되었다. C집단(2003-2004년)과 E집단(2007-2008년)에서는 기대이형접합율이 관측이형접합율 보다 큰 것으로 확인되었고, 나머지 그룹 모두에서는 관측이형접합율이 기대이형접합율 보다 큰 것으로 확인되었다. 대립유전자 출현빈도를 기반으로 유전적 조성과 구조를 추론하기 위해 STRUCTURE software를 이용하여 분석한 결과 세대가 지남에 따라 특정 유전적 성분의 변화 또는 비중의 증감을 확인 할 수 있었다. 이는 개량 목표를 설정하고 지속적으로 추진되고 있는 개량 사업이 한우 씨수소 집단의 유전적 구조 변화에 영향을 미치고 있음을 확인 할 수 있는 중요한 자료로, 한우 개량 사업의 효율적인 추진을 위해 유용하게 활용 될것으로 사료된다.

In Korea, ecological research on the goral is underway to restore and increase population size of these ungulates, but clinical research on gorals species is still in its infancy. Owing to the nature of the gorals’ habitat, several animals live together within limited areas; so, the risk of parasitic infection is very high. In this study, we performed physical examination of 17 gorals undergoing breeding and restoration at the Korean Goral Restoration Center. Weight, ear height, horn length, withers height of the anthropometric data of this study were no differences from other researchers. Blood samples from each species were analyzed. There was no significant difference among individuals in terms each value examined, although some hematological and biochemical values, such as neutrophils, lymphocytes, glucose and amylase showed differences among individuals. The average values of blood tests in gorals ware lower in lymphocytes, blood urea nitrogen, and calcium than in livestock goats, and hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and glucose were higher in livestock. Helminth eggs were detected in 15 out of 17 gorals by microscopic examination of their fecal samples, and Eimeria spp. and Strongyloides spp. were detected in all the gorals. However, there may be cases of death due to diarrhea, which may lead to a decrease in growth and production. Therefore, proper prevention and treatment are needed. These results may serve as an important reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of gorals. This information helps further understand the current health status of these species and may contribute to a more systematic restoration of the gorals.

This study measured the economic values of landscape and species diversity in mountainous pasture using a choice experiment. The attributes considered were landscape (forest, pasture, or pasture in forest), species diversity (180, 200, 225, or 250), and levy (five levels from 4,000 to 12,000 won/household). An online survey was administered to residents in 17 metropolitan cities and provinces in Korea. The results of the multinomial logit model showed that pasture in forest, all variables for species diversity, and levy were statistically significant. Age was statistically significant, implying that older people tend to prefer forest areas. The results also indicated that the willingness to pay for changing 1 ha of forest into pasture decreased by 74.3 won/household, while that for changing forest to pasture in forest increased by 1,338.1 won/household. The marginal willingness to pay for changing from species 250 to 225, 200, and 180 was estimated as -782.7, -2,647.1, and -4,492.6 won/household, respectively. The results of this study can provide useful insights for the development of mountainous pasture in Korea.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of sugars and stabilizers on the qualitative properties of frozen-yogurt. To prepare the yogurt mix, market milk was fermented using a commercial starter culture and sugars, trehalose and sucrose, and to prepare the ice cream mix, stabilizers, carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) and guar gum, were used. The yogurt and ice cream preparations were mixed in a 1:1 (v/v) ratio to produce frozen-yogurt. Yogurt prepared using trehalose showed a significantly faster increase in pH, titratable acidity, and viable cell count than that prepared using sucrose (p<0.05). Ice cream prepared using guar gum showed a significantly higher viscosity and overrun than the CMC-stabilized preparation (p<0.05). Frozen-yogurt produced using the yogurt-trehalose mix and ice cream-CMC mix showed the highest hardness and lowest overrun. The melt-down rate of frozen-yogurt prepared with the yogurt-trehalose mix was significantly slow (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences among the yogurt mixes in terms of changes in the viable cell count at 0, 7, 15, 30, and 45 days (p>0.05). In a sensory evaluation, most panels preferred the frozen-yogurt with sucrose over that with trehalose. However, it is expected that using trehalose with other sugar substitutions and guar gums in manufacture of frozen-yogurt have high potentiality than using sucrose and CMC, and it is considered that it could reignite the stagnant domestic milk processing industry.

The objective of this study was to investigate changes in drying yield, pH, water activity, microbial growth, and storage stability of bottom rounds of Hanwoo beef under four different dry-aging treatments (T1–T4) as temperature (2~4℃), relative humidity (65~86%) and dry-aging period (20~90 d). The drying yield decreased by 83.13–97.05% as the drying period increased. Among the four treatments, there were no significant differences in drying yield after 60 d of dry-aging. The total plate aerobic counts (TPC) increased by 1.07–4.39 log colony-forming units (CFU)/g as the dry-aging period increased. Of the four treatments, T4 at 40, 60, and 90 d had significantly higher TPCs than those observed for the other treatments on the same days (p<0.05). As the period of dry-aging increased, pH values increased by 5.35– 5.88 for knuckle and 5.34–5.62 for sirloin muscle, and water activity values decreased. For knuckle and sirloin muscle, the water activity values at 40 d and 60 d of T1 and T4 were significantly higher than those of the other treatments on the same days (p<0.05). The thiobarbituric reactive substances and volatile basic nitrogen values of the aged products increased as the dry-aging period increased. The results of this study showed that dry-aging conditions such as those in the T2 or T3 treatments (with a gradual increase in temperature and humidity) for less than 60 d would be best for yield, reduction of microbial growth and storage stability by dry the muscle surface quickly at the beginning period. Further research should include meat quality and economic analysis for these conditions that examines the benefits of these dry-aged products for the end processor.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of using corn flakes, produced by pressurized steam chamber, on nutrient disappearance rate and energy value in three Hanwoo and three Holstein cows, implanted with a ruminal fistula. Corn flakes were categorized in 2 groups based on the chamber type: control (corn flakes produced using a steam chamber) and treatment (corn flakes produced using a pressurized steam chamber). Dry matter (DM) disappearance rate was 5.17% higher in treatment than in control (p<0.01). Starch disappearance rate was also higher in the treatment than in the control (p<0.01). Nitrogen free extract (NFE) and non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) disappearance rates were 6.08 and 5.71% higher in treatment compared to control, respectively (p<0.01). In comparison by breed and incubation time, DM, starch, NFE, and NFC disappearance rates were higher in treatment than in control. The mean total digestible nutrients (TDN) was higher in treatment than in control (p<0.05). In comparison between Hanwoo and Holstein, TDN of corn flakes was slightly but not significantly higher in Holstein than in Hanwoo. Thus, these results indicate that the use of the pressurized steam chamber is recommended to increase the nutrient (starch, NFE, NFC etc.) disappearance rate and TDN.

This study was conducted to find out that how much does it effects as it considered not only animal additive genetic effect but also maternal genetic effect for improving litter traits of pigs. The data of 10,836 records on 2,636 sows in Landrace and 14,463 records on sows in Yorkshire were analyzed which had been measured from 1998 to July 2017 in a nucleus herd of pig population. The traits used on this analysis were total number of born with (TNB2) and without mummy (TNB1) and number of born alive (NBA). Two different multivariate animal mixed models were considered and compared of variance components estimated from these models. The one (Model 1) was set up with assumed to parity, return events and batch effects as fixed and service sire, permanent environment and animal additive genetic effects as random. The other (Model 2) was same with Model 1 except considering maternal additive genetic effects as random. (Co)variance for random effects and genetic parameters were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood method and breeding values as best linear unbiased prediction were estimated using preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm on each model and breed. From these models, heritability estimates for NBA were about 0.10 and 0.11 on both models in Landrace and Yorkshire, respectively. Forthermore, it was estimated that there were little variations in the maternal genetic effects with roughly 1~2% of total variation. Result from comparing estimated breeding values for each trait between each model, ranking of genetic capability through total breeding values on model 1 and on model 2 showed highly correlated with more than 0.92. Consequently, for improving litter traits, selection based on breeding values by direct genetic effects without considering maternal genetic effects were reccommendable.

The objective of this study was to comparatively analyze the vocalizations of farrowing sows and their piglets in a welfare certified farm and a conventional farm as they are useful parameters for animal welfare assessment. The conventional farm using the gestation stall, farrowing crate and nursery, grower‐finisher pigs were accommodated in small pens. On the other hand, in the welfare certified farm using the group feeding gestation sows, which allows them to turn around in the furrowing pens, unlike in the crates and nursery, grower‐finisher pigs were accommodated in large pens. Vocalization of farrowing sows and their piglets were recoded and acoustic parameters were analyzed. Eight vocalizations―screaming, fighting, playing, suckling competition, suckling, piglet call, frightened, and space competition―were recoded in the farrowing crate and classified; 4 ordinary and 4 non‐ordinary vocalizations were identified. However, frightened and space competition vocalizations were not detected in the farrowing pen. Screaming, fighting, playing, suckling competition, and suckling vocalizations were significantly (p<0.01) different in pitch, intensity and duration between the farrowing pen and the farrowing crate. Piglet call vocalization did not differ between the farrowing facilities. These findings will aid us in using the differences in vocalizations, under different conditions, as parameters of animal welfare assessment.

This study was conducted to investigate whether dietary levels of copra and palm meals affect the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat properties of Hanwoo steers. Eighty-one Hanwoo steers were randomly assigned to one of three dietary groups: T1 (conventional level of palm and copra meals), T2 (20% copra meal and 15% palm meal), and T3 (30% copra meal and 20% palm meal). During the growing and early fattening periods, the average daily gains and formula feed intakes of T2 and T3 were higher than that of T1; however, those differences were not statistically significant. The dietary levels of copra and palm meals did not affect carcass weight, back fat thickness, and rib-eye areas. Marbling scores and meat quality grades were lower in T3 than in T1 and T2; however, those differences were not statistically significant. Meat color, fat color, texture, and maturity were similar among the treatment groups. In addition, dietary levels of copra and palm meals did not affect the chemical and fatty acid composition of longissimus dorsi muscles in Hanwoo steers. Thus, the present results indicate that high supplementation levels of copra and palm meals do not negatively affect the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat properties of Hanwoo steers.

This study aimed to produce high-quality blastocysts and establish appropriate microinjection conditions for the introduction of target gene. First, we identified embryo development to the blastocyst stage after microinjection using the CRISPR/Cas9 system on the Cas9 protein or mRNA. As a result, we confirmed that blastocyst development in the Cas9 mRNA injected group significantly increased when compared to the Cas9 protein injected group (p<0.05). However, the blastocyst gene targeting rate increased in the Cas9 protein injected group when compared to the Cas9 mRNA injected group (p<0.05). Next, we treated the injection medium with 10 μg/ml of cytochalasin B (CB), and the microinjected embryos were cultured in CR1-aa medium supplemented with 0.1 μM of melatonin (Mela). Consequently, the blastocyst formation rate significantly increased in the CB treated group (p<0.05). After microinjecting embryos with the CB treated injection medium, we investigated blastocyst formation and quality via Mela treatment. Consequently, the Mela treated group demonstrated significantly increased blastocyst formation rates when compared to the non-treated group (p<0.05). Furthermore, immunofluorescence assay using RAD51 (DNA repair detection protein) and H2AX139ph (DNA damage detection protein) showed an increase in RAD51 positive cells in Mela treated embryos. Therefore, we verified the improvement in knock-in efficiency in microinjected bovine embryos using Cas9 protein. These results also demonstrated that the positive effect of the CB and Mela treatments improved the embryonic developmental competence and blastocyst qualities in genetically-edited bovine embryos.

The objective of this study was to estimate the growth curve parameters of body weight for female Elk. Weight and age data from 115 does raised at the Animal Genetic Resources Research Center in Korea were used in this study. The growth curve parameters were estimated from a nonlinear regression using Gompertz and Logistic models. Mature weight (A), growth ratio (b) and maturing rate (k) of female Elk were 214.1±2.17 kg, 2.12±0.0045 and 0.0043±0.00011, respectively, according to the Gompertz model. They were 208.3±2.17 kg, 5.56±0.234 and 0.0065±0.00017, respectively, according to the Logistic model. The goodness of fit determined by R2 was higher in the Gompertz model than that in the Logistic model. The growth curve functions obtained from the Gompertz and Logistic models in female Elk were f(t)=214.1×e-2.124×e-0.00484×t and f(t)=208.3×(1+5.561×e-0.00651×t)-1, respectively. The absolute growth rate functions from the Gompertz and Logistic models in female Elk were f'(t)=0.0043×f(t)×1n(214.1/f(t)) and f'(t)=0.0065×f(t)×[1-f(t)/208.3]respectively. The growth pattern of female Elk generated from this study can be useful in determining the most appropriate feeding plans and the best breeding strategies for deer.

As a transcription factor, the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) induces the expression of specific genes by interacting with their promoters. C/EBP can trigger to express other genes, because it can open chromatin structure after binding to DNA, then lead to another transcription factors. In this study, we investigated the features and post-exercise expression patterns of two genes in the C/EBP family, C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ. The basic region leucine zipper motif (bZIP) is a crucial region of C/EBP, and analysis of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution ratios revealed that bZIP regions were well conserved in mammalian species. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR data showed that C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ expression increased significantly in the muscle after exercise, but did not do so in the blood. We therefore propose that exercise-induced increased expression of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ may stimulate gene expression in physiological pathways in muscle cells.

The aim of the study was to set up assessment indicators for early elimination of horses that are not trainable or low efficient for training by comparing difference of behavioral response and heart rate on stimulation of desensitization training in horses. The animals used in this study were 8 untrained cross-bred horses (Thoroughbred and Jeju-horse) in Jeju island. Changes of heart rates and behavioral response of each horses were compared before and after desensitization training using a plastic bag on its tip. The result showed that the horses with their severe behavioral response were also high in heart rate during early stage of desensitization training, and the increased heart rates were recovered back to the base level according to the process of the training. The horses that quickly recovered in heart rate also showed same tendency in behavioral response. The horses that their recovery in heart rate and behavioral response in early stage of the desensitization training were late, showed insufficient results of the additional desensitization training. We conclude that assessment of heart rate and behavioral response in the early stage of desensitization training could be used as indicators to predict the effectiveness of desensitization or other kinds of training in horses.

This study was conducted to clarify behavior and body weight of weaned piglets between different social experiences during suckling period. Control (no social experience) and treatment (social experience) groups of weaned piglets were housed and observed with the aid of video technology for 8 consecutive hours in early (days 1 and 2) and late (days 22 and 23) periods after mixing. Inactive, locomotion and exploration were significantly different between control and treatment groups in early mixed period. Feeding differed between groups in late mixed period. In social behaviors, agonistic and interaction with adjacent pen were significantly higher in treatment group than in control group during early mixed period. However, social behaviors dramatically decreased in late mixed period. There was negative correlation between average daily gain of body weight and agonistic behavior. In social experienced weaned piglet groups, there were less agonistic behavior and more daily gain of body weight in this study. Social experience during suckling period would be useful for stable group management in swine industry.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of equation being used to estimate the total digestible nutrients (TDN) of whole crop rice silage (WCRS) in sheep. To compare the observed and estimated TDN contents [estimated TDN content=87.57-(0.737×ADF)], two varieties of WCRS from Nokyang (NS) and Samgwang (SS) as forage and food source, respectively, were used as a treatment. Nine female Corriedale sheep (average body weight: 49.2±6.3 kg) were used as the experimental animals. The ewes were fed according to their nutrient requirements at the maintenance level. To check the difference between the observed and estimated TDN contents, one sample non-parametric t-test was applied. The CP, NFE and CF contents of the NS were 43.6, 74.2 and 64.2%, respectively, and that of the SS were 46.2, 58.1 and 44.9%, respectively. The observed and estimated TDN contents of the NS were 63.5 and 61.5%, where there was no significant difference. The observed and estimated TDN contents of the SS were 48.9 and 59.0%, where there was significant difference (p<0.05) This research confirmed the validity of TDN estimation equation being used for estimation of TDN of WCRS as forage source, but further research is recommended on the equation for estimating TDN contents of WCRS as food source.

This study was to investigate effect of tunicamycin (TM) on sperm viability, mitochondrial activity and motility in boar semen. Collected sperm were incubated with semen extender containing 0, 1, 2, and 5 μM TM for 3, 6 and 9 h. Sperm viability was analyzed using SYBR14/PI doubling staining, and mitochondrial activity was detected using Rhodamine123/PI staining methods. Sperm viability, mitochondrial activity and motility were measured every 3 h during incubation. In results, boar sperm viability, mitochondrial activity and motility were significantly decreased in 2 and 5 μM TM groups compare to control group at all incubation time (p<0.05). In addition, mitochondrial activity and motility were significantly decreased in 1, 2, and 5 μM TM groups compare to control group at 9 h after incubation (p<0.05). These results suggest that TM can inhibit sperm viability, mitochondrial activity and motility in boar semen, and it may influence on the fertility of sperm.

This study was conducted to find out the environmental, service sire and genetic effects for reproductive trait in certain purebred of pigs on Landrace and Yorkshire, and to suggest selection indicator which is to improve genetic capability on reproductive traits. There are five traits used on this analysis which are total number of born (NBT), number of born alive (NBA), piglets weight within litter (LW), average of birth weight on piglets within litter (ABW) and variation of birth weight on piglets within litter (VBW). With these data, the mixed model was established using 10,342 records collected from 2,527 sows of Landrace and 13,817 records collected from sows of 3,056 Yorkshire breeds and the variation of random effects and the genetic parameter were estimated by the REML method including service sire effects, permanent environmental effects and sow genetic effects. Due to characteristics of closed nucleus herd for using data on this study, given that it has been isolated breeding for about 19 years that progressed over 16 generations, genetic analysis was performed on all of these data and partial data of the current genetic group in which animals were born after 2011. The effects of service sire were estimated to be less than about 8% of total variation in all traits considered in the analysis. Permanent environmental effects were estimated about 2~14% of total variation in all traits considered. The heritability, which is the ratio of genetic variance among the total variance, was estimated to be 20~35% for LW and ABW in Landrace and Yorkshire, while it was about 10~14% for NBT. The genetic correlations between NBT and LW were 62~74% and between NBT and ABW were –28~-7%. Therefore, indirect selection for improving litter size could be possible with considering LW. Whereas, the genetic effect of the service sire effects for litter traits would be trivial.

Bropirimine, a class of antineoplastic agents, is known as one of the potent immunomodulators and is currently under clinical development for the treatment of cancer. However, the effect of bropirimine on the cow remains unknown as a therapeutics agent. In this experiment, the effect of bropirimine in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin-A (Con-A) was examined. Jugular venous blood was collected from Korean Hanwoo calves and PBMCs were isolated. It was used to study the effect of bropirimine upon stimulation with LPS or Con-A for 72 hours. The expression pro-inflammatory cytokines like Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α) and Interferon γ (IFN-γ) were confirmed. Bropirimine significantly inhibited LPS- or Con-A-induced TNF-α and Con-A-induced IFN-γ in dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, Bropirimine inhibited TNF-α and Con-A mRNA expression at the transcription level. These results clearly indicated that bropirimine inhibited LPS or Con-A stimulated up-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner without conspicuous cytotoxicity. The bropirimine has potential to protect cow from LPS or Con-A induced endotoxin shock, possibly through inhibition of the production of proinflammatory cytokines. It suggesting that bropirimine may be a novel therapeutic agent for the prevention of inflammatory diseases. This result revealed specific features of the immune responses depending on the bropirimine compound and would help to knowledge of bovine immunity.