Background: As the number of households raising companion dogs increases, the pet genetic analysis market also continues to grow. However, most studies have focused on specific purposes or native breeds. This study aimed to collect genomic data through single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip analysis of companion dogs in South Korea and perform genetic diversity analysis and SNP annotation. Methods: We collected samples from 95 dogs belonging to 26 breeds, including mixed breeds, in South Korea. The SNP genotypes were obtained for each sample using an Axiom™ Canine HD Array. Quality control (QC) was performed to enhance the accuracy of the analysis. A genetic diversity analysis was performed for each SNP. Results: QC initially selected SNPs, and after excluding non-diverse ones, 621,672 SNPs were identified. Genetic diversity analysis revealed minor allele frequencies, polymorphism information content, expected heterozygosity, and observed heterozygosity values of 0.220, 0.244, 0.301, and 0.261, respectively. The SNP annotation indicated that most variations had an uncertain or minimal impact on gene function. However, approximately 16,000 non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) have been found to significantly alter gene function or affect exons by changing translated amino acids. Conclusions: This study obtained data on SNP genetic diversity and functional SNPs in companion dogs raised in South Korea. The results suggest that establishing an SNP set for individual identification could enable a gene-based registration system. Furthermore, identifying and researching nsSNPs related to behavior and diseases could improve dog care and prevent abandonment.

Background: The Hanwoo industry must develop technologies that can increase the production of preferred cuts to match changing consumer trends. In this study, we aimed to estimate the genetic parameters for carcass traits (carcass weight, eye muscle area, back fat thickness, and intramuscular fat) and primal cut traits (tenderloin, loin, strip loin, neck, clod, top round, bottom round, brisket, shank, and rib) in a Hanwoo population to obtain basic data for improving primal cut productivity. Methods: Data from 1,905 Hanwoo steers, including carcass traits and primal cut weights, were collected. Genetic parameters were estimated using REMLF90 in a multi-trait analysis. Results: High heritability was found for carcass weight (0.52) and strip loin yield (0.63). Genetic correlations between carcass weight and primal cut weights ranged from 0.52 to 0.93. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the significant potential for genetic improvement in Hanwoo cattle through selective breeding, particularly for traits with high heritability and genetic correlations. These findings provide crucial insights into optimizing breeding programs to improve Hanwoo cattle production efficiency.

소의 14번 염색체에 위치한 2,4-Dienoyl CoA reductase1(DECR1) 유전자는 polyunsaturated fatty enoyl-CoA의 β-oxidation과 연관된 호르몬으로 지질대사조절에 영향을 미치는 유전자로 알려져 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 한우의 경제형질 관련 DNA 마커 개발을 목적으로 DECR1 유전자 내의 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)를 탐색하고, 경제형질간의 연관성을 분석하고자 수행하였다. 먼저 부모가 서로 다른 한우 종모우에서 DECR1 유전자 내의 SNP를 탐색한 결과 총 13개의 SNPs를 확인하였고, 이 중 G20788A는 valine(Val)에서 methionine(Met)으로, A23262G는 isoleucine(Ile)에서 valine(Val)으로 바뀌는 missense mutation으로 확인되었다. 그리고 도체 성적을 보유한 200두의 한우를 대상으로 missense mutation으로 확인된 G20788A와 A23262G의 유전자형과 경제형질간의 연관성을 분석하였다. 그 결과 G20788A는 근내지방도와 도체중에서 A23262G는 등지방두께, 배최장근단면적, 근내지방도와 도체중에서 통계적 유의성을 확인 할 수 있었고(P<0.05), 이를 통해 missence mutation인 G20788A와 A23262G는 각 경제형질에 영향을 미치는 것을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 본 연구에서 탐색된 한우 DECR1 유전자의 SNP 유전자형은 한우 선발 및 개량을 위한 DNA 마커로 활용 가능할 것으로 기대된다.

Recently, with the increase of meat production, high quality and safety of meat have been strongly emphasized by Korean consumers. Marbling in beef has been regarded as an important criterion deciding meat quality in Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify the transcriptional level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in longissimus muscle samples of 46 Hanwoo. The level of IGF-1 transcripts was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and molecular connection of IGF-1 was analyzed using the Pathway Studio program (Ver 9.0). Increase of marbling score (MS) induced increase of IGF-1 transcripts level in the muscle and there is a significant correlation (p<0.05) between IGF-1 mRNA expression and MS. The pathway study showed that IGF-1 genes are regulated in insulin, fatty acid synthase, leptin, and corticotrophin releasing hormone. These results suggest that IGF-1 might be used as a useful marker for the improvement of economic traits in Hanwoo.

The silkworm (Bombyx mori), as an industrial insect, possesses a high economic value. Casual discrimination and accumulated genetic information of silkworm varieties are essential ground for the practical utilization and long-term conservation. In this study, nine available microsatellite loci were successfully genotyped from ~50 silkworm strains preserved in Korea. According to genotyping analysis, we obtained 3 ~ 16 alleles per locus, with an average of 7.4, the observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.04 to 0.98, and the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranging from 0.06 to 0.88, revealing that some loci are highly variable. Among 54 strains 13 strains were casually identified by the presence of 17 strain-specific apomorphic alleles. Furthermore, 30 among remaining strains contained strain-specific allele combinations that are also apomorphic to each strain, allowing us to discriminate each of these from other strains by genotyping of multiple loci. These results collectively suggest that the silkworm microsatellite DNA is actually and potentially important molecular marker for the discrimination of the silkworm strains that are preserved as hundreds in Korea, as more loci are genotyped.

Metamorphosis is a development process involving the programmed cell death of obsolete larval organs. Aspartic proteinase cathepsin D (BmCatD) is involved in the silkworm Bombyx mori metamorphosis. Here we show a novel functional role of cysteine proteinase cathepsin B during B. mori metamorphosis. The B. mori cathepsin B (BmCatB) was expressed in the fat body, epidermis, ovary, testis, and hemocyte of the larval and pupal stages. The BmCatB was ecdysoneinduced, expressed in the fat body of the molting, the final larval instar and pupal stages, and its expression led to programmed cell death. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated BmCatB knock-down inhibited the programmed cell death of larval and pupal fat body, resulting in the arrest of larval-pupal transformation. BmCatB RNAi is up-regulated the expression of BmCatD. Based on these results we concluded that BmCatB is critically involved in the histolysis of the larval and pupal fat body, indicating that BmCatB and BmCatD are mutally regulated during silkworm metamorphosis.