• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.825-830
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• 2010

Two diallelic markers at candidate gene loci, the prolactin receptor 3 (PRLR3) gene and the retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) gene were evaluated for their association with growth and litter size traits in Berkshire. Genetic evaluation was conducted for 5,919 pigs with pedigree information, which included 3,480 growth performance records and 775 litter size records of 224 sows. From the same herd, genotyping was carried out on 144 and 156 animals for PRLR3 and RBP4, respectively. After assigning a genotype to subjects in which both parents had a homozygous genotype, numbers of genotyped animals increased to 474 and 338, for the PRLR3 gene and RBP4 gene, respectively. The genotype effects of two markers were estimated with breeding values of the genotyped animals. The additive effects of total number of piglets born and number of piglets born alive in the PRLR3 locus were -0.28 and -0.13, respectively. The dominance effect of the RBP4 locus on average daily gain was -10.58 g. However, the polymorphism of the RBP4 locus in total number of piglets born and number of piglets born alive has shown -0.34 and -0.33 of the additive genetic effects. In view of the results, MAS (marker-assisted selection) favoring B alleles of RBP4 and PRLR3 loci could potentially accelerate the rate of the genetic improvement in the litter size traits.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.99-106
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• 2014

Objectives Previous studies suggest that the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene could be an important candidate gene for schizophrenia. According to linkage studies, this gene is located on chromosome 6q14-q15, which is known to harbor the schizophrenia susceptibility locus (locus 5, SCZ5, OMIM 803175). The pharmacological agent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (${\Delta}$-9-THC) seems to elicit the symptoms of schizophrenia. The association between CNR1 polymorphisms and schizophrenia is actively being investigated, and some studies have linked the AAT-trinucleotide repeats in CNR1 to the onset of schizophrenia. In this study, we have investigated the association between the AAT-trinucleotide repeats in CNR1 and schizophrenia by studying schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals from Korea. Methods DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 394 control subjects and 337 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition criteria). After polymerase chain reaction amplification, a logistic regression analysis, with age and gender as the covariates, was performed to study the variations in the AAT-repeat polymorphisms between the two groups. Results In total, 8 types of trinucleotide repeats were identified, each containing 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 repeats, respectively. $(AAT)_{13}$ allele was most frequently observed, with a frequency of 33.6% and 31.6% in the patient and control groups, respectively. The frequency of the other repeat alleles in the patient group (in the decreasing order) was as follows : $(AAT)_{13}$ 33.6%, $(AAT)_{14}$ 21.6%, $(AAT)_{12}$ 18.5%, and $(AAT)_{7}$ 11.1%. The frequency of the repeat alleles in the control group (in the decreasing order) was as follows : $(AAT)_{13}$ 31.6%, $(AAT)_{14}$ 24.5%, $(AAT)_{12}$ 17.2%, and $(AAT)_{7}$ 11.6%. However, there were no significant differences in the AAT-repeat polymorphisms of the CNR1 gene between the patient group and the control group. Conclusions Although our study revealed no significant association of the AAT-repeat polymorphism of the CNR1 gene with schizophrenia, it will serve as a good reference for future studies designed to examine the cannabinoid hypothesis of schizophrenia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1749-1752
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• 2012

Colorectal cancer (CRC), now the third most common cancer across the world, is known to aggregate in families. USP7 is a very important protein with an important role in regulating the p53 pathway, which is critical for genomic stability and tumor suppression. We here genotyped eight SNPs within the USP7 gene and conducted a case-control study in 312 CRC patients and 270 healthy subjects in the Chinese Han population. No significant associations were found for any single SNP and CRC risk. Our data eliminate USP7 as a potential candidate gene towards for CRC in the Han Chinese population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.387-393
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• 2016

Background: CYP1A1 is a candidate gene for low-penetrance breast cancer susceptibility, as it plays an important role in the metabolism of carcinogens and estrogens. Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the association between M2 (A2455G, Ile462Val) and M4 (C2453A, Thr461Asn) polymorphisms in CYP1A1 and breast cancer risk among Jordanian women and in subgroups stratified by menopausal status and smoking history. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 112 breast cancer female patients and 115 age-matched controls who underwent breast cancer screening with imaging and showed negative results (BI-RADS I or BI-RADS II). Genotyping was performed using the PCR-RFLP technique. Results: No statistically significant overall association was found between breast cancer risk and CYP1A1 M2 genotypes (p= 0.55; OR = 0.77; 95% CI= 0.32 - 1.83) nor with the M4 polymorphism (p= 0.95; OR= 0.95; 95% CI= 0.51 - 1.88). Analysis of subgroups defined by menopausal status or smoking history also revealed no association with these polymorphisms. Furthermore, the four identified haplotypes (AC; AA; GC and GA) were equally distributed among cases and controls, and haplotype analysis showed a strong linkage disequilibrium of both studied loci in either cases or controls (D'=1). Conclusions: Based on the study results, CYP1A1 M2 and M4 polymorphisms do not seem to play a major role in breast cancer risk among Jordanian females.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.653-660
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• 2002

We considered KIT gene as a candidate gene for the white-spotting pattern in cattle. This study was carried out to detect genetic variation of c-KIT receptor gene and to investigate association between the mutation and the white-spotting pattern in cattle. PCR-RFLP analysis within intron 6 of c-KIT receptor gene were performed with 8 cattle breeds including Hanwoo, Angus, Brown Swiss, Charolais, Hereford, Holstein, Limousin and Simmental. When PCR product of approximately 2,440 bp including intron 6 of c-KIT receptor gene was sequenced, four nucleotide substitutions were found within intron 6 of the bovine c-KIT receptor gene. In PCR-RFLP analysis, three alleles (A, B and C), two alleles (A and B) and two alleles (A and B) at each locus were identified by MspⅠ, BsrBⅠ and NdeⅠ, respectively. Although frequencies of allele at each locus were different among cattle breeds, we could not get any evidence related with white or white spotting phenotypes in these mutations on intron 6 of c-KIT receptor gene. However, we can not entirely exclude the possibility that c-KIT receptor gene is responsible for white spotting phenotype in cattle. Thus, further studies need to detect other mutations in c-KIT receptor gene and to test association of those mutations and coat color phenotypes in cattle.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1498-1504
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• 2010

A number of studies have shown that the calpain system is important in normal skeletal muscle growth. An increased rate of skeletal muscle growth can result from a decreased rate of muscle protein degradation, and this is associated with a decrease in activity of the calpain system, due principally to a large increase in calpastatin (CAST) activity. The CAST gene, mapped to BTA 7, is considered a candidate gene for beef tenderness and muscle growth. The present study used comparative sequencing of five novel polymorphisms located within exon 20 and 22 of the bovine CAST gene in Hanwoo: exon20- 109737G/A, 109749T/C, 109823T/C, exon22- 116151G/A, intron- 109926G/A. The association of the CAST SNPs with economic traits was studied. The 109926G/A showed a significant effect only on the longissimus muscle area (LMA, p<0.05) in Hanwoo. 109926G/A with the genotype GG had a significantly higher effect on LMA (75.35) than the genotype AA (69.6, p<0.05). Also, the 116151G/A showed a significant effect only on weight at 18 months (W18, p<0.05). 116151G/A with the genotype GG had a significantly higher effect on W18 (428.54) than the genotype AA (408.87, p<0.05).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7443-7447
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• 2014

Aim: Little is known about the genetic associations with Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) risk in non-Caucasian populations, in which BCC is rare, as in Korea. We here conducted a pilot genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 12 patients and 48 standard controls. Method: A total of 263,511 SNPs were analyzed with the Illumina HumanOmni1 Quad v1.0 DNA Analysis BeadChip for cases and Korean HapMap 570K for controls. Results: SNP-based analyses, based on the allele genetic model with adjustment for sex and age showed suggestive associations with BCC risk for 6 SNPs with a P-value (P < 0.0005). However, these associations were not statistically significant after Bonferroni correction: rs1040503, rs2216491, rs13407683, rs4751072, rs9891263, and rs1368474. In addition, results from gene-based analyses showed suggestive associations with BCC risk for 33 candidate genes with a P-value (P <0.0005). Consistent with previous GWAS and replication studies in Caucasian populations, PADI6, RHOU and SLC45A2 were identified as having null associations with BCC (P > 0.05), likely due to the smaller sample size. Conclusions: Although this was a small-scale negative study, to our knowledge, we have conducted the first GWAS for BCC risk in an Asian population. Further large studies in non-Caucasian populations are required to achieve statistical significance and confirm these findings.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.938-943
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• 2002

This study was perfonned to detect polymorphisms of the two candidate genes, bovine BTN (Butyrophilin) and ST AT5a (Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription) gene using 98 Holstein bulls' frozen semen, and to offer the basic information for QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci) analysis. Each BTN PCR product was digested with endonuclease restriction enzyme. The digested fragments of four BTN PCR products were observed as follows: 316,280, and 162 bp in BTN1, 568, 305 and 263 bp in BTN2, 576, 332, and 244 bp in BTN3, and 573, 291, and 282 bp in BTN4, respectively. The gene frequencies of A and B allele in four BTN loci were as follows: 0.8980 and 0.1020 in BTN1, 0.5510 and 0.4490 in BTN2, 0.8163 and 0.1837 in BTN3, and 0.8875 and 0.1122 in BTN4, respectively. And three genotypes (homotypel, heterotype, and homotype2) for STAT5a were observed by SSCP (single stranded conformational polymorphism) method and the genotype frequencies are 78.57%, 19.39%, and 2.04%, respectively. The PlC (Polymorphism Information Content) value and heterozygosity of four BTN loci were as follows: 0.1695 and 0.1870 in BTN1, 0.3713 and 0.4927 in BTN2, 0.2549 and 0.2999 in BTN3, and 0.1794 and 0.1992 in BTN4, respectively. Comparing with the reported data, PlC value of BTN2 might have the possibility to be useful marker. Other BTN loci indicated skewed allele distribution.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1110-1118
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• 2018

Objective: This study was intended to identify genes positively selected in Thoroughbred horses (THBs) that potentially contribute to their running performances. Methods: The genomes of THB and Jeju horses (JH, Korean native horse) were compared to identify genes positively selected in THB. We performed cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) and cross-population composite likelihood ratio test (XP-CLR) statistical methods for our analysis using whole genome resequencing data of 14 THB and 6 JH. Results: We identified 98 (XP-EHH) and 200 (XP-CLR) genes that are under positive selection in THB. Gene enrichment analysis identified 72 gene ontology biological process (GO BP) terms. The genes and GO BP terms explained some of THB's characteristics such as immunity, energy metabolism and eye size and function related to running performances. GO BP terms that play key roles in several cell signaling mechanisms, which affected ocular size and visual functions were identified. GO BP term Eye photoreceptor cell differentiation is among the terms annotated presumed to affect eye size. Conclusion: Our analysis revealed some positively selected candidate genes in THB related to their racing performances. The genes detected are related to the immunity, ocular size and function, and energy metabolism.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a novel endolysin (PanLys.1) for the specific killing of the ruminal hyper-ammonia-producing bacterium Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (P. anaerobius). Methods: Whole genome sequences of P. anaerobius strains and related bacteriophages were collected from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the candidate gene for PanLys.1 was isolated based on amino acid sequences and conserved domain database (CDD) analysis. The gene was overexpressed using a pET system in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The lytic activity of PanLys.1 was evaluated under various conditions (dosage, pH, temperature, NaCl, and metal ions) to determine the optimal lytic activity conditions. Finally, the killing activity of PanLys.1 against P. anaerobius was confirmed using an in vitro rumen fermentation system. Results: CDD analysis showed that PanLys.1 has a modular design with a catalytic domain, amidase-2, at the N-terminal, and a cell wall binding domain, from the CW-7 superfamily, at the C-terminal. The lytic activity of PanLys.1 against P. anaerobius was the highest at pH 8.0 (p<0.05) and was maintained at 37℃ to 45℃, and 0 to 250 mM NaCl. The activity of PanLys.1 significantly decreased (p<0.05) after Mn²⁺ or Zn²⁺ treatment. The relative abundance of P. anaerobius did not decrease after administration PanLys.1 under in vitro rumen conditions. Conclusion: The application of PanLys.1 to modulate P. anaerobius in the rumen might not be feasible because its lytic activity was not observed in in vitro rumen system.