• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.928-935
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• 2008

The myostatin gene of seven important meat (Beltex (Australia), Beltex$\times$Huyang (F1), Meat and Multi-Prolific Chinese Merino Fine Wool, Meat Chinese Merino Fine Wool and Dorper (South Africa)) and non-meat (Huyang and Kazak) sheep breeds was analyzed to study the genetic basis of muscular hypertrophy (double muscling) phenotype in sheep. SNPs, four in regulatory regions and several in the introns in the myostatin gene, were identified, and the former four SNPs were used for further studies. Twelve haplotypes were predicted by PHASE program, of which four main haplotypes (1, 3, 7, 9) were present in 90% of the 364 sheep in the study. Haplotypes 1-4 were mainly present in meat breeds while haplotypes 7 and 9 dominated the non-meat breeds. The association between haplotypes and average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed among 116 sheep with production data, Haplo2 (CGAA) and Haplo8 (TGAA) were identified to have significant (p<0.05) effect on ADG by the model (JMP5.1 software) taking into account the effects of breed, family background, haplotype, birth weight and sex. ADG of these haplotype groups also correlated well (r = 0.82) with hypertrophic phenotype scores. In conclusion, the mutations -956 (T$\rightarrow$C), -41 (C$\rightarrow$A) and 6223 (G$\rightarrow$A) involved in Haplo2 and 8 may be associated with the double-muscling trait by influencing myostatin function and be suitable markers in selecting meat sheep.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.655-661
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• 2011

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Bacillus, Saccharomyces and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on performance and nutrient digestibility in grower and finisher pigs. In Exp. 1, 80 pigs (32 females and 48 males), $28.7{\pm}0.9\;kg$ body weight (BW), were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups balanced for sex and weight (5 pigs per pen, 4 pens per treatment). They were fed one of four diets: a basal grower (20-50 kg BW) and finisher (>50 kg BW) diet without any addition of probiotic or antibiotic (diet C), the basal diet supplemented with Bacillus subtilis H4 (diet B), diet B supplemented with Saccharomyces boulardi Sb (diet BS) and diet BS supplemented with a LAB complex (diet BSL). The LAB complex consisted of Enterococcus faecium 6H2, Lactobacillus acidophilus C3, Pediococcus pentosaceus D7, and Lactobacillus fermentum NC1. In Exp. 2, 16 male pigs, $29.2{\pm}0.8\;kg$ BW, were kept in individual pens and divided into 4 groups (4 pigs in each group). All 4 groups were given exactly the same growing-period diets (diet C, B, BS and BSL) as in Exp 1. The total faeces and urine were collected during 5 days (day 20-24) to determine nitrogen retention and total tract digestibility. In the growing period, average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not affected by diet B and BS (p>0.05), but ADG increased (+5.9%) (p<0.05) and FCR improved (+5.9%) (p<0.05) on diet BSL compared with the control, although ADFI was not different (p>0.05). Digestibility of crude protein and organic matter was higher (p<0.05) in diet BSL and digestibility of crude fibre was higher (p<0.05) in diet BS and BSL than in diet C. Nitrogen retention was not affected by diet (p>0.05). The faecal LAB counts were increased in grower pigs fed diet BSL (p<0.05) and faecal E. coli counts were decreased in pigs fed diets BS and BSL (p<0.05). In the finishing period, no effects of diet were found in ADFI, ADG, FCR, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen retention (p>0.05). Faecal LAB and E. coli counts in the finisher pigs were not affected by diet (p>0.05). In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that a mixture of bacteria and yeast has the potential to be used as a probiotic dietary supplement in grower pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1237-1247
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictions of dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) of Vietnamese Yellow (Vang) purebred and crossbred (Vang with Red Sindhi or Brahman) bulls fed under Vietnamese conditions using two levels of solution (1 and 2) of the large ruminant nutrition system (LRNS) model. Animal information and feed chemical characterization were obtained from five studies. The initial mean body weight (BW) of the animals was 186, with standard deviation ${\pm}33.2$ kg. Animals were fed ad libitum commonly available feedstuffs, including cassava powder, corn grain, Napier grass, rice straw and bran, and minerals and vitamins, for 50 to 80 d. Adequacy of the predictions was assessed with the Model Evaluation System using the root of mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), accuracy (Cb), coefficient of determination ($r^2$), and mean bias (MB). When all treatment means were used, both levels of solution predicted DMI similarly with low precision ($r^2$ of 0.389 and 0.45 for level 1 and 2, respectively) and medium accuracy (Cb of 0.827 and 0.859, respectively). The LRNS clearly over-predicted the intake of one study. When this study was removed from the comparison, the precision and accuracy considerably increased for the level 1 solution. Metabolisable protein was limiting ADG for more than 68% of the treatment averages. Both levels differed regarding precision and accuracy. While level 1 solution had the least MB compared with level 2 (0.058 and 0.159 kg/d, respectively), the precision was greater for level 2 than level 1 (0.89 and 0.70, respectively). The accuracy (Cb) was similar between level 1 and level 2 (p = 0.8997; 0.977 and 0.871, respectively). The RMSEP indicated that both levels were on average under-or over-predicted by about 190 g/d, suggesting that even though the accuracy (Cb) was greater for level 1 compared to level 2, both levels are likely to wrongly predict ADG by the same amount. Our analyses indicated that the level 1 solution can predict DMI reasonably well for this type of animal, but it was not entirely clear if animals consumed at their voluntary intake and/or if the roughness of the diet decreased DMI. A deficit of ruminally-undegradable protein and/or a lack of microbial protein may have limited the performance of these animals. Based on these evaluations, the LRNS level 1 solution may be an alternative to predict animal performance when, under specific circumstances, the fractional degradation rates of the carbohydrate and protein fractions are not known.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.612-622
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sex, birth year, birth season, and parity of sows on their progeny using the following on-farm test records: Backfat Thickness (BF), Fresh Meat Percent (FMP), Loin depth (LD), Age at 90kg (90D), and Average Daily Gain (ADG). Statistical analysis was performed using data collected from 1,178 Yorkshire and 13,395 Landrace progenies, which were born from 119 Yorkshire and 1,191 Landrace sows, respectively between 2011 and 2015. All results of the analysis were statistically significant (P < 0.05) except the birth season effect on LD. For Landrace, the highest ratings were found to be at the $5^{th}$ parity (BF), at the $3^{rd}$ parity (FMP and LD), at the $2^{nd}$ parity (90D and ADG). For Yorkshire, the highest ratings were at the $2^{nd}$ parity (BF and FMP), at the $3^{rd}$ parity (LD), and at the $4^{th}$ parity (90D and ADG). Although the ratings of carcass traits of progeny appear to be higher between the maternal sow's $2^{nd}$ and $4^{th}$ progenitor, no significant relations to parity were found. Based on these results, we concluded that maternal parity is not significantly affect carcass traits of progeny and thus that the best slaughtering age of sows should not be determined solely based on maternal parity but also in consideration of other factors such as unit costs of production. The results of this study would provide fundamental information to future studies on the effect of economical parity on sows and swine breeding.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.1034-1041
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• 2020

Objective: The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of shade allocation and shade plus fan on growth performance, dietary energy utilization and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle under tropical ambient conditions Methods: Two trials were conducted, involving a total of 1,560 young bulls (289±22 kg BW) assigned to 24 pens (65 bulls/pen and 6 pens/treatment). Pens were 585 ㎡ with 15 m fence line feed bunks. Shade treatments (㎡ shade/animal) were: i) limited shade (LS) to 1.2 ㎡ shade/animal (LS_1.2); ii) limited shade to 2.4 ㎡ shade/animal (LS_2.4); iii) total shade (TS) which correspond to 9 ㎡/animal, and iv) total shade equipped with fans (TS+F). Trials lasted 158 and 183 days. In both studies, the average weekly maximum temperature exceeded 34℃. Results: Increasing shade allocation tended (p = 0.08) to linearly increases average daily gain (ADG), and dry matter intake (DMI, quadratic effect, p = 0.03). This effect was most apparent between LS_1.2 and LS_2.4. Shade allocation, per se, did not affect gain efficiency or estimated dietary net energy (NE). Compared with TS, TS+F increased (p<0.05) ADG, gain efficiency, and tended (p = 0.06) to increase dietary NE. There was a quadratic effect of shade on longissimus area and marbling score, with values being lower (p<0.01) for LS_2.4 than for LS_1.2 or TS. Likewise, marbling score was lower for TS+F than for TS. Percentage kidney, pelvic, and heart (KPH) linearly decreased with increasing shade. In contrast, KPH was greater for TS than for TS+F. Conclusion: Providing more than 2.4 ㎡ shade/animal will not further enhance feedlot performance. The use of fans in combination with shade increases ADG and gain efficiency beyond that of shade, alone. These enhancements were not associated with increased DMI, but rather, to an amelioration of ambient temperature humidity index on maintenance energy requirement.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.52-60
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• 2010

This experiment was conducted on 60 Hanwoo calves comprising five feed additive groups, with 12 calves in each group, to determine the effects of additives at pre- and post-weaning on growth performance and blood profile. The groups were control, antibiotic (Neomycin 110 ppm), illite (2%), fermented green tea probiotics (FGTP, 0.5%), and mixed additives (FGTP 0.25%, illite 1% and licorice 0.1%). The calves were offered experimental pellet feeds ad libitum and after one month were supplied with imported timothy hay. They moved freely within the group and suckled their mother' milk during the pre-weaning stage (birth to 3 months) and were separated from their dam during the post-weaning stage (4-5 months). During the pre-weaning stage, the highest average daily gain (ADG) was recorded in the antibiotic- and mixed additive-fed groups followed by FGTP, control and illite groups. In the post-weaning stage, significantly higher total weight gain and ADG were recorded in both the FGTP and mixed additive groups compared to the other groups (p<0.05). Feed efficiency of mixed additive- and illite-fed calves were almost similar with antibiotic-fed calves compared to the other two groups, but the ADG was lowest in illite-fed calves during the pre-weaning stage. In contrast, post-weaning calves fed FGTP and mixed additives showed better feed efficiency. The values of hematological indices, differential leukocyte count, blood proteins and immunoglobulin among the additive-fed calves were not significantly different (p>0.05), although hemoglobin and hematocrit values were lower in FGTP compared to control, but similar in mixed additive and antibiotic groups. These results indicate no detrimental effects of feed additives on the blood profile of calves at both pre- and post-weaning age. Serum albumin in post-weaning calves of all feed additive groups were similar but significantly lower (p<0.05) than in the control group. Post-weaning, IgM was significantly lower (p<0.05) in illite-fed calves compared to other treatment groups, but there was no difference at pre-weaning. Considering all factors, the mixed feed additives and FGTP can be the replacement feed formula for antibiotic for Hanwoo beef calf production, especially when used post- weaning.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.937-945
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• 2010

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary zinc (Zn), environmental temperatures and Zn${\times}$temperature interaction on growth, feathering score and mineral composition of broilers. A total of 256 d-old Avian male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to a $4{\times}2$ factorial arrangement with four corn-soybean meal basal diets (containing 44 mg Zn/kg) supplemented with 0, 40, 60 mg/kg Zn (Diets 1, 2 and 3, respectively; 0.8% Ca for these three diets) and non-Zn supplementation, 1.6% Ca (Diet 4) and two temperature conditions (low: 26, 24, $22^{\circ}C$ vs. high: 30, 28, $26^{\circ}C$). All birds were given feathering coverage scores for back, breast, wing, under-wing and tail. The wing and tail were further evaluated for the occurrence and severity of defect feathers. Feathers were then pooled for mineral composition analysis. The results showed that in high temperature conditions, broilers fed Zn-unsupplemented, 0.8% Ca ration (Diet 1) had significantly (p<0.05) lower ADFI and ADG (wk 1-6) than birds under low temperature conditions. However, when the birds were fed 40 and 60 mg/kg Zn supplementation (Diets 2 and 3), the ADFI and ADG in both temperature conditions were not significantly different. In low temperature conditions, the ADFI, ADG (p<0.05), all feather coverage (p<0.01) and tail defect scores (p<0.001) of birds fed Diet 4 (excess Ca) were significantly poorer than those fed Diet 1. More Ca (p<0.05) was retained in the feathers of broilers fed Diet 4 under high temperature conditions. Broilers fed the Zn-unsupplemented ration (Diet 1) had significantly higher feather phosphorus (p<0.01) and potassium (p<0.05) concentrations than those fed the 60 mg/kg Zn-supplemented ration (Diet 3). A reduction of feather phosphorus (p<0.01) and potassium (p<0.05) and higher manganese (p<0.05) concentrations were observed in Diet 4 broilers as compared to those fed Diet 1. Under high temperature conditions, broilers had lower iron (p<0.05) and higher manganese (p<0.05) concentrations in feathers. Broilers kept in high temperature conditions had a higher Zn requirement and 40 mg/kg Zn supplementation was sufficient for the birds to achieve optimum growth. Supplemental Zn ameliorated the adverse effect of high temperature on growth and occurrence of tail feather defects. Excess Ca disrupted Zn metabolism to exert a detrimental effect on growth performance and normal feathering and this was elucidated in the birds kept in low temperature conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.1251-1257
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• 1999

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of roasting and extrusion on nutritional value of conventional and low-inhibitor soy beans for nurser-age pigs. In Exp. 1, 100 weaning pigs (7.5 kg average initial BW) were used in a 35-d growth assay to determine the effects of processing method (roasting in a Rast-A-Tron$^{TM}$ raster vs extrusion in an Insta-Pro$^{TM}$ extruder) on the nutritional value of Williams 82 soybeans with (+K) and without (-K) gene expression for the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor. Treatments were 48% soybean meal with added soybean oil, +K roasted, +K extruded, -K roasted and -K extruded. All diets were formulated to contain 3.5 Mcal DE/kg, with 0.92% lysine for d 0 to 14 and 0.76% lysine for d 14 to 35 of the experiment. The lysine concentrations were 80% of NRC (1988) recommendations to accentuate difference in response to protein quality and lysine availability. For d 0 to 14, pigs fed extruded soybeans (+K and -K) had greater ADG (p<0.001), ADFI (p<0.09) and gain/feed (p<0.01) than pigs fed roasted soybeans. For d 14 to 35 and overall, the same effects were noted, i.e., pigs fed extruded soybeans had greater ADG, ADFI and gain/feed than pigs fed roasted soybeans (p<0.03). Also, pigs fed -K soybeans were more efficient (p<0.008) than pigs fed +K soybeans. In Exp. 2, 150 weanling pigs (7.0 kg average initial BW) were used in a 35-d growth assay. All diets were formulated to contain 3.5 Mcal DE/kg, with 1.25% lysine for d 0 to 14 and 1.10% lysine for d 14 to 35 of the experiment. The lysine concentrations were formulated to be in excess of NRC recommendation to determine if differences in nutritional value of the soybean preparations could be detected in protein-adequate diets. For d 0 to 14 (p<0.06), 14 to 35 (p<0.03) and 0 to 35 (p<0.02), pigs fed extruded soybeans had greater ADG and gain/feed than pigs fed roasted soybeans. Apparent digestibilities of DM, N and GE were greater for diets with extruded soybeans than diets with roasted soybeans and diets with soybean meal and soybean oil were intermediate. The response to extrusion processing was greater with -K than +K soybeans, with pigs fed extruded -K soybeans having the greatest growth performance and nutrient digestibilities and lowest skin-fold thickness of any treatment. In conclusion, extrusion yielded a full-fat soy product of greater nutritional value than roasting. Also, selection against genetic expression of the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor improved nutritional value of the resulting soybean preparations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1003-1008
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• 2012

One hundred and twenty weanling pigs in experiment 1 (Exp. 1) ($6.91{\pm}0.99kg$; 21 d of age) and Exp. 2 ($10.20{\pm}1.09kg$; 28 d of age) were used in two 42-d and 35-d experiments to evaluate the effect of medium-chain-triglyceride (MCT) on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and blood profile. In both of Exp. 1 and Exp. 2, the same dietary treatments were utilized as follows : i) negative control (NC), ii) positive control (PC), NC+antibiotics (40 mg/kg Tiamulin, 110 mg/kg Tylosin, and 10 mg/kg Enramycin, iii) MCT3, NC+0.32% (phase 1, 2 and 3) MCT, and iv) MCT5, NC+0.55% (phase 1), 0.32% (phase 2 and 3) MCT. In Exp. 1, the pigs fed MCT5 diets had higher (p<0.05) ADG compared to NC treatment during the first 2 wk. From d 15 to 28, the ATTD of energy was improved (p<0.05) by MCT3 compared to the PC treatment. No effect has been observed on the blood profiles [red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), immunoglobulin-G (IgG), lymphocyte concentration] measured in this study. In Exp. 2, the ADG were increased (p<0.05) by the MCT5 treatment than the PC treatment from d 0 to 14. Pigs fed PC treatment diet had lower ADFI (p<0.05) and better FCR (p<0.05) than NC treatment, whereas no differences were shown between MCT treatments and NC or PC treatment from d 15 to 35 and overall phase. The ATTD of DM and nitrogen were improved (p<0.05) by the effect of MCT5 related to the NC and PC treatment at the end of 2nd and 5th wk. The pigs fed MCT3 had higher (p<0.05) energy digestibility than PC treatment. No effects were seen in the blood profiles we measured (WBC, RBC, lymphocyte and immunoglobulin-G). In conclusion, the addition of MCT in the weanling pigs diet can improve the ADG and digestibility during the earlier period (first 2 wks), but had little effect on the blood characteristics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1731-1737
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• 2000

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of threonine:lysine ratios on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration, and to estimate the optimal threonine:lysine ratios for growing barrows and gilts. A total of 150 pigs (Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire${\times}$Duroc, $16.75{\pm}0.42kg$ average body weight, 75 barrows and 75 gilts) was randomly allotted into six treatments in a $2{\times}3$ factorial design. Six diets were formulated to contain 1.12% lysine for barrows and 1.33% lysine for gilts with three threonine:lysine ratios (50, 60 and 70%) for both barrows and gilts. Throughout the whole experimental period (16 to 56 kg body weight), there was no interaction between sex and dietary threonine:lysine ratio in average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion rate (FCR). Between sexes, there was a clear sex-effect showing better growth performance of barrows. Barrows consumed more feed (p<0.01) and grew faster (p<0.01) than gilts. For barrows, there was a trend to improved ADG and FCR with increasing threonine:lysine ratio. For gilts, there was a trend to improved ADG and FCR up to threonine:lysine ratio of 60%, but not significant. There was no interaction between sex and threonine:lysine ratio in nutrient digestibilities of growing pigs except for crude ash (CA). Between sexes, there were differences in nutrient digestibilities, except for calcium for which gilts showed higher a digestibility (p<0.01). Among dietary threonine:lysine ratios, there were no differences in nutrient digestibilities. Mean values of essential amino acids (EAA), non-essential amino acids (NEAA) and total amino acids (TAA) digestibilities were not affected by sex and dietary threonine:lysine ratio. There was no evidence of an interaction between sexes and dietary threonine:lysine ratio. Between sexes, total BUN concentration was lower in gilts than barrows (p<0.05). It was concluded that a 70 and 60% dietary threonine:lysine ratio for barrows (1.12% lysine) and gilts (1.33% lysine) tended to result in better growth performances and nutrient utilization and lower BUN concentration than other threonine:lysine ratios.