• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.638-644
• /
• 2007

Differences of meat qualities between Japanese Black and Holstein have been known in Japan, however, the causative proteins and/or the genetic background have been unclear. The aim of this study was to identify candidate proteins causing differences of the meat qualities between the two breeds. Using technique of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, protein profiling was compared from samples of the longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Five protein spots were observed with different expression levels between breeds. By using LC-MS/MS analysis and Mascot program, three of them were identified as ankyrin repeat protein 2, phosphoylated myosin light chain 2 and mimecan protein. Subsequently, we compared the DNA coding sequences of three proteins between breeds to find any nucleotide substitution. However, there was no notable mutation which could affect pI or molecular mass of the proteins. The identified proteins may be responsible for different characteristics of the meat qualities between Japanese Black and Holstein cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.514-520
• /
• 2006

An abandoned mandarin orange orchard in southwestern Japan was set-stocked by Japanese Black cows at two stocking rates (1.0 and 2.0 animals/ha), and vegetation dynamics and diet selection by cattle were monitored for two years, in an effort to obtain information on effective use of abandoned agricultural fields for low-cost animal production and environmental conservation. Two dominant species at the commencement of grazing, kudzu (Pueraria lobata Ohwi) and tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima L.), showed different responses to grazing during the two years; the composition of kudzu decreased, contrasting with that of tall goldenrod which increased at both stocking rates. This was caused by high preference for kudzu and avoidance or low preference for tall goldenrod by cattle. Retrogression of vegetation due to cattle disturbances occurred at both stocking rates, with the high stocking rate leading to a lower degree of succession than the low stocking rate. It was shown that cattle grazing, particularly at a high stocking rate, was effective in the management of vegetation of an abandoned orchard.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.11
• /
• pp.1655-1661
• /
• 2005

The present studies were designed to provide new information on fatty acid profiles of various muscles and adipose tissues of fattening horses in comparison with beef cattle and pigs. In the first study, the lipids were extracted respectively from subcutaneous, intermuscular adipose tissues, longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles of fattening Breton horses (n = 8) with an average body weight of 1,124 kg. In the second study, the lipids were extracted from subcutaneous, intermuscular adipose tissues and longissimus dorsi muscle of fattening horses (n = 13), Japanese Black beef cattle (n = 5), Holstein steers (n = 5) and fattening pigs (n = 5). The fatty acids in the lipid samples were determined by gas chromatography after methylation by a combined base/acid methylation method. It was found that the lipids from horse subcutaneous and intermuscular adipose tissues contained more (p<0.05) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which were mainly composed of linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3) than those in the muscles. The weight percent of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA cis 9, trans 11) in lipids from biceps femoris muscle was 0.22%, which was higher (p<0.05) than that from the other depots. The horse lipids were higher (p<0.05) in PUFA but lower (p<0.05) in SFA and MUFA in comparison with those of the cattle and pigs. The percentage of C18:2 or C18:3 fatty acid in the horse lipids were respectively 2-8 fold or 5-18 fold higher (p<0.05) than those of the cattle and pigs. The percentages of CLA (cis 9, trans 11) in the horse lipids (0.14-0.16%) were very close to those of the pigs (0.18-0.19%) but much lower (p<0.05) than those of the Japanese Black beef cattle (0.55-0.94%) and Holstein steers (0.46-0.71%). The results indicated that the fatty acid profiles of lipids from different muscle and adipose tissues of fattening horses differed significantly. In comparison with that of the beef cattle and pigs, the horse lipids contained more C18:2 and C18:3 but less CLA.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.15 no.12
• /
• pp.1680-1685
• /
• 2002

Reproductive data collected from more than 20,000 Japanese Black cows of Hyogo and Shimane Prefectures were analyzed. Averages of age at first calving, gestation length, days open and calving interval were 25.1 mo, 289 d, 112 d and 401 d, respectively. Variance components were obtained by REML procedure and the heritability estimate of age at first calving was 0.22. In gestation length the heritability estimate was 0.40 and no permanent environmental effect was estimated. Estimated variance components of calving interval were similar to those of days open and the heritability and repeatability of calving interval were 0.05 and 0.09, respectively. Random farm effects accounted for approximately 10% of phenotypic variations in all traits. Genetic and farm correlations between age at first calving and calving interval were 0.27 and 0.39, respectively. It was found that temporary environment was an important source of variation for calving intervals of Japanese Black.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.8
• /
• pp.1172-1185
• /
• 2019

Objective: Meat quality attributes in postmortem muscle tissues depend on skeletal muscle metabolites. The objective of this study was to determine the key metabolic compounds and pathways that are associated with postmortem aging and beef quality in Japanese Black cattle (JB; a Japanese Wagyu breed with highly marbled beef). Methods: Lean portions of Longissimus thoracis (LT: loin) muscle in 3 JB steers were collected at 0, 1, and 14 days after slaughter. The metabolomic profiles of the samples were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry, followed by statistical and multivariate analyses with bioinformatics resources. Results: Among the total 171 annotated compounds, the contents of gluconic acid, gluconolactone, spermidine, and the nutritionally vital substances (choline, thiamine, and nicotinamide) were elevated through the course of postmortem aging. The contents of glycolytic compounds increased along with the generation of lactic acid as the beef aging progressed. Moreover, the contents of several dipeptides and 16 amino acids, including glutamate and aromatic and branched-chain amino acids, were elevated over time, suggesting postmortem protein degradation in the muscle. Adenosine triphosphate degradation also progressed, resulting in the generation of inosine, xanthine, and hypoxanthine via the temporal increase in inosine 5'-monophosphate. Cysteine-glutathione disulfide, thiamine, and choline increased over time during the postmortem muscle aging. In the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes database, a bioinformatics resource, the postmortem metabolomic changes in LT muscle were characterized as pathways mainly related to protein digestion, glycolysis, citric acid cycle, pyruvate metabolism, pentose phosphate metabolism, nicotinamide metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, purine metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. Conclusion: The compounds accumulating in aged beef were shown to be nutritionally vital substances and flavor components, as well as potential useful biomarkers of aging. The present metabolomic data during postmortem aging contribute to further understanding of the beef quality of JB and other breeds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.445-454
• /
• 2003

Concept and establishment of essential amino acids in animals and human beings rendered immeasurable contributions to animal production and human health. In ruminant animals, however, essential amino acids have never been completely established. The present review proposes a hypothesis that histidine may not be an essential amino acid for normal growing cattle (Japanese black) at least at the growing stage after about 450 kg of body weight on the basis of the experimental results of histidinol dehydrogenase activities in some tissues of the cattle together with hints from which the hypothesis was derived. At the same time, histidinol dehydrogenase activities in liver, kidney and muscle of swine, mouse, fowl and wild duck will be shown and the essentiality of histidine in these animals will be discussed. Finally, the essentiality of histidine for adult human will briefly be discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.7
• /
• pp.930-934
• /
• 2013

The growth performance of embryo-transferred Japanese Black calves that were born from, and suckled by, Japanese Shorthorn cows in a cow-calf grazing system (BS-group, n = 5) was compared to that of Japanese Black calves from Japanese Black cows in a cowshed (BB-group, n = 5). The daily weight gain from birth to 1 month was higher in the BS-group than in the BB-group (p<0.01), and the same trend (p<0.05) was observed at 2 and 3 months of age. This resulted in body weight that was significantly higher for the BS-group between 1 and 3 months of age than what was observed for the BB-group (p<0.05). Heart girth was significantly greater in the BS-group than in the BB-group throughout the experimental period (p<0.01), and chest depth and withers height in the BS-group were significantly greater from 2 to 4 months of age (p<0.05) and at 4 months of age only (p<0.05). No difference in body length (p>0.05) was observed between the groups. These results suggest that the maternal effect of Japanese Shorthorn cows was positive for embryo-transferred Japanese Black calf growth during the early suckling stage. As Japanese Black calves are traded at a high price on the Japanese market, we conclude that this proposed production system is likely to improve the profitability of herd management in upland Japan.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.368-369
• /
• 1989

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.53-56
• /
• 2015

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis. This study was conducted to clarify the molecular characteristics of BLVs obtained from a specific region in Korea. Proviral BLVs were detected in anti-BLV antibody-positive blood samples by PCR. Env and gag fragments were sequenced and compared to previously published reference sequences. Analysis of the env gene sequence revealed that the YI strain was highly similar to genotype 1, including United States and Japanese strains. The gag gene sequence had the highest degree of similarity with a Japanese strain.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.34 no.7
• /
• pp.1100-1104
• /
• 2021

Objective: The objective of present study was to estimate heritability of non-return rate (NRR) and success of first insemination (SFI) by using the Bayesian approach with Gibbs sampling. Methods: Heifer Traits were denoted as NRR-h and SFI-h, and cow traits as NRR-c and SFI-c. The variance covariance components were estimated using threshold model under Bayesian procedures THRGIBBS1F90. Results: The SFI was more relevant to evaluating success of insemination because a high percentage of animals that demonstrated no return did not successfully conceive in NRR. Estimated heritability of NRR and SFI in heifers were 0.032 and 0.039 and the corresponding estimates for cows were 0.020 and 0.027. The model showed low values of Geweke (p-value ranging between 0.012 and 0.018) and a low Monte Carlo chain error, indicating that the amount of a posteriori for the heritability estimate was valid for binary traits. Genetic correlation between the same traits among heifers and cows by using the two-trait threshold model were low, 0.485 and 0.591 for NRR and SFI, respectively. High genetic correlations were observed between NRR-h and SFI-h (0.922) and between NRR-c and SFI-c (0.954). Conclusion: SFI showed slightly higher heritability than NRR but the two traits are genetically correlated. Based on this result, both two could be used for early indicator for evaluate the capacity of cows to conceive.