• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 2012

After spermatogenesis, spermatozoa come in contact with fluids in the epididymis where they mature. During ejaculation, spermatozoa are mixed with secretions from prostate gland, vesicular glands, and bulbourethral glands. During natural mating, seminal plasma is deposited in the female reproductive tract eliciting various physiological and immunological responses. With the advances in proteomics, the components of seminal plasma have been identified and the information may be valuable in identifying markers for fertility. Components of seminal plasma that affect fertility have been discovered and the mechanism of action of these factors has been determined. The objective of this study was to determine the specific seminal plasma proteins from Korean native cattle, Hanwoo, and Korean native brindle cattle (KNBC) with the long term goal of improving fertilization rate. After SDS-PAGE and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, proteins were identified by Q-ToF analysis. They include plasma serine protease inhibitor precursor and platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase after SDS-PAGE. Number and density of the spots in 2-dimensional gels were higher in KNBC than Hanwoo. Proteins identified from the paired spots of both breeds include chain A, bull seminal plasma PDC-109 Fibronectin Type II module, BSP-30 kDa precursor, and Spermadhesin Z13 or its precursor. Interestingly, some proteins were identified from multiple spots. The functional differences of these diverse forms of the proteins may require further studies. With their previously reported roles in sperm capacitation by these proteins, the studies on the mechanism of action, ligand interaction and the variation in the genome may help improving fertility in cattle.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.325-329
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• 2011

The main objective of this study is to investigate the distribution of coat color among Ulleung Korean Native Brindle Cattle, and to identify basic genetic elements required for the fixation of coat color traits. 1. The distribution of coat color among Ulleung Korean Native Brindle Cattle was 24.3% yellow (67/276),13.0% black (36/276), 62.7% brindle (173/276). The frequency of Brindle coat color was slightly higher (66%, 105/159) among embryo transfer from outside than that of cows produced by embryo transfer from jurisdiction. 2. Investigation of coat color distribution in each sex group showed that the frequency of yellow coat color was lower in males (18.1%, 25/138) than in females (31.4%, 43/137). On the other hand, the frequency of brindle coat color was slightly higher among males (68.1%, 94/138) than in females (56.9%, 78/137). 3. Examination of Brindle coat color expression based on the intensity of black dots on the nose indicated that the expression of black coat color increase in proportion to the intensity of black dots.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.255-265
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• 2012

The objectives of this study were to investigate MC1R genotype, coat color, and muzzle phenotype variationsin the Korean native brindle cattle (KNBC) maintaining family lines and to establish the mating system for increased brindle coat color appearance. KNBC with genotype and phenotype records were selected as experimental animals. The relationship between melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) genotypes, verified by PCR-RFLP, and brindle coat color appearance was determined. Fragments of the MC1R gene amplified by PCR were digested with MspI and RFLP was determined. KNBC had $E^+E^+$, $E^+e$, and ee genotypes. The $E^+e$ genotype was most common with 65%, compared to $E^+E^+$ (33.33%), or ee (1.67%). When the sire had $E^+e$ genotype and the dam had $E^+E^+$ genotype, and both of them had the whole body-brindle coat color, all of their offspring (4/4) had whole body-brindle coat color. When the sire had $E^+E^+$ genotype and the dam had $E^+e$ genotype, and both had whole body-brindle coat color, 44.44% (4/9) of the offspring had whole body-brindle coat color. The mating between the sires and dams with these two genotypes with whole body-brindle coat color may have the highest whole body-brindle coat color appearance in their offspring. Muzzle grades 3 or 4 were more common than other muzzle grades. This is the first report indicating the segregation of MC1R genotypes and the inheritance of coat color through family lines in KNBC. The mating system proposed from this study may increase the possibility of brindle coat color appearance in KNBC.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.230-233
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• 2016

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) is the non-random association between the loci and it could give us a preliminary insight into the genetic history of the population. In the present study LD patterns and effective population size (Ne) of three Korean cattle breeds along with Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian cattle were compared using the bovine Illumina SNP50 panel. The effective population size (Ne) is the number of breeding individuals in a population and is particularly important as it determines the rate at which genetic variation is lost. The genotype data in our study comprised a total of 129 samples, varying from 4 to 39 samples. After quality control there were ~29,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for which $r^2$ value was calculated. Average distance between SNP pairs was 1.14 Mb across all breeds. Average $r^2$ between adjacent SNP pairs ranged between was 0.1 for Yanbian to 0.3 for Qinchuan. Effective population size of the breeds based on $r^2$ varied from 16 in Hainan to 226 in Yanbian. Amongst the Korean native breeds effective population size of Brindle Hanwoo was the least with Ne = 59 and Brown Hanwoo was the highest with Ne = 83. The effective population size of the Korean cattle breeds has been decreasing alarmingly over the past generations. We suggest appropriate measures to be taken to prevent these local breeds in their native tracts.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.624-630
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• 2015

This study examined the genetic distance among Chikso (Korea native brindle cattle) in nine regional areas using allele frequencies and a genetic diversity analysis with microsatellite markers. The analysis of the genetic diversity and genetic relationships of 2068 Chikso (383 KW, 180 GG, 52 KN, 129 KB, 332 UL, 24 JN, 198 JB, 148 CN, 622 CB) was carried out using 11 microsatellite markers. The number of alleles, observed heterozygostiy (H_obs), expected heterozygosity (H_exp), and polymorphism information content (PIC) of the 11 microsatellite markers were 8–24, 0.672–0.834, 0.687–0.886, and 0.638–0.876, respectively. The expected probability of identity values in random individuals (PI), random half-sib (PI_half-sibs), and random sibs (PI_sibs) were estimated to be 5.24×10⁻¹⁹, 2.63×10⁻⁰⁶, and 2.63× 10⁻⁰⁶, respectively, indicating that these markers can be used for traceability systems in Chikso cattle. The results of a phylogenetic tree (neighbor-joining tree), principle component analysis (PCA), and factorial component analysis (FCA) revealed genetic distance among nine Chikso populations. In conclusion, this study provides useful basic data that can be utilized in Chikso breeding and development. In addition, we will have to manage and conserve as a valuable genetic resource, without losing diversity of Chikso.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to investigate the result of in vivo embryo collection and pregnancy rate after embryo transfer using sex-sorted sperm of Korean brindle cattle. Donor Korean brindle cattle superovulation treated by decreasing dose of FSH injection. Embryos were recovered on 7 days after the third artificial insemination. Control group semen straw used artificial insemination contained 20 million sperm. Sex-sorted semen straws contained 4 million sperm or 10 million sperm. As for the result of the recovery of the in vivo embryos derived from sex-sorted sperm, the number of transferable embryos was significantly highly recovered to be $6.20{\pm}2.28/donor$ from the control group and was significantly lowly recovered to be $1.57{\pm}1.72/donor$ from the group treated at a sperm concentration of $10{\times}10^6$ (p<0.05). The number of unfertilized embryo was $0.8{\pm}1.30/donor$ in control group which was significantly lower than the group treated at a sperm concentration of $4{\times}10^6$ (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the number of undeveloped ova between control and treatment groups. Pregnancy rate after embryo transfer was shown to be 35.00% in control group and 12.50% in treatment group. The karyotype analysis of the calf derived from sex-sorted sperm resulted in a similar chromosomal distribution pattern (2n=60, XX) compared to those of common Korean native cattle.