• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.622-626
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• 2007

Using multi-trait animal model BLUP, selection was conducted over seven generations for growth rate (DG), real-time ultrasound loin-eye muscle area (LEA), backfat thickness (BF), and intramuscular fat content (IMF) to develop a new line of purebred Duroc pigs with enhanced meat production and meat quality. This study was intended to investigate the relationship between restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of a heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) gene and intramuscular fat content (IMF) of this Duroc purebred population. The present experiment examined the RFLP of 499 slaughtered pigs. The DNA was separated from the blood or ear tissue of the pigs, which were slaughtered at 105 kg of body weight. Intramuscular fat content of the longissimus muscle was measured using chemical analysis. A significant difference was detected in the breeding value of IMF among the H-FABP PCR RFLP genotypes. The AA genotype has a significantly larger positive effect on the IMF breeding value than do the Aa and aa genotypes for the MspI RFLP. In addition, the DD genotype has a significantly greater positive effect on IMF breeding value than the Dd and dd genotypes for the HaeIII RFLP. For the HinfI RFLP, the hh genotype has a significantly larger positive effect on IMF breeding value than the HH genotype. Multiple regression analysis was performed using the IMF breeding values as the dependent variable and the three H-FABP genotypes as independent variables. Results revealed that the contribution of the genotypes to variation in IMF breeding values was approximately 40%. These results demonstrated that H-FABP RFLPs affect IMF in this Duroc population.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2020

A grading system is implemented to evaluate the meat quality of Hanwoo. In the grading system, grade 1++A is the highest grade. Livestock farms breed Hanwoo with good quality feed in order to obtain the highest grade. In this process, the content ratios of muscles in individual regions can be changed. To find out the muscle distribution ratios of Hanwoo steers, grade 1A, 1+A, and 1++A Hanwoo steers were compared with grade 1+A Hanwoo female. Grade 1A Hanwoo steers had higher ratios of shank (SK), brisket and flank (BF), neck chain (NC), and inside skirt (IS) meats and a lower ratio of striploin (SL) meat compared to grade 1+A Hanwoo feamle. Grade 1++A Hanwoo steers had higher ratios of neck (NK) and loin (LN) meats and lower ratios of inside skirt (IS), tenderloin (TL), top round (TR), eye round (ER), bottom round (BR), bottom sirloin triangle (BST), and knuckle (K) meats compared to grade 1+A Hanwoo steers. In comparison between grade 1A and 1++A Hanwoo steers, the ratio of shank (SK) was significantly lower in higher quality meats. If the changes are continuously studied to improve the process so that the ratios of partial meats of the regions highly preferred by consumers can increase, it will contribute to increases in the incomes of livestock farms and enable Hanwoo to grow into a global brand.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1061-1065
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• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to locate quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing fatty acid (FA) composition in a large $F_2$ intercross between Landrace and Korean native pigs. Methods: Eighteen FA composition traits were measured in more than 960 $F_2$ progeny. All experimental animals were genotyped with 165 microsatellite markers located throughout the pig autosomes. Results: We detected 112 QTLs for the FA composition; Forty seven QTLs reached the genome-wide significant threshold. In particular, we identified a cluster of highly significant QTLs for FA composition on SSC12. QTL for polyunsaturated fatty acid on pig chromosome 12 (F-value = 97.2 under additive and dominance model, nominal p-value $3.6{\times}10^{-39}$) accounted for 16.9% of phenotypic variance. In addition, four more QTLs for C18:1, C18:2, C20:4, and monounsaturated fatty acids on the similar position explained more than 10% of phenotypic variance. Conclusion: Our findings of a major QTL for FA composition presented here could provide helpful information to locate causative variants to improve meat quality traits in pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.613-620
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• 2012

Marbling from intramuscular fat is an important trait of meat quality and has an economic benefit for the beef industry. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) fine mapping was performed to identify the marbling trait in 266 Hanwoo steers using a 10K single nucleotide polymorphism panel with the combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium method. As a result, we found nine putative QTL regions for marbling: three on BTA6, two on BTA17, two on BTA22, and two on BTA29. We detected candidate genes for marbling within 1 cM of either side of the putative QTL regions. Additionally, to understand the functions of these candidate genes at the molecular level, we conducted a functional categorization using gene ontology and pathway analyses for those genes involved in lipid metabolism or fat deposition. In these putative QTL regions, we found 95 candidate genes for marbling. Using these candidate genes, we found five genes that had a direct interaction with the candidate genes. We also found SCARB1 as a putative candidate gene for marbling that involves fat deposition related to cholesterol transport.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1507-1510
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• 2012

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with fat deposition traits in pigs are important gene positions in a chromosome that influence meat quality of pork. For QTL study, a three generation resource population was constructed from a cross between Korean native boars and Landrace sows. A total of 240 F2 animals from intercross of F1 were produced. 80 microsatellite markers covering chromosomes 1 to 10 were selected to genotype the resource population. Intervals between adjacent markers were approximately 19 cM. Linkage analysis was performed using CRIMAP software version 2.4 with a FIXED option to obtain the map distances. For QTL analysis, the public web-based software, QTL express (http://www.qtl.cap.ed.ac.uk) was used. Two significant and two suggestive QTL were identified on SSC 6, 7, and 8 as affecting body fat and IMF traits. For QTL affecting IMF, the most significant association was detected between marker sw71 and sw1881 on SSC 6, and a suggestive QTL was identified between sw268 and sw205 on SSC8. These QTL accounted for 26.58% and 12.31% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. A significant QTL affecting IMF was detected at position 105 cM between markers sw71 and sw1881 on SSC 6.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.169-190
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• 2006

Researches in livestock are currently actively progressing to improve economically important traits using DNA markers. In cattle, the candidate genes have been selected based on their known functions in the target QTL (quantitative trait locus) region in order to identify QTN (quantitative trait nucleotide) for improving productivities. In this review, molecular genetic studies for the meat related traits, one of the major determinant of market prices, have been fully described. Also recent emerging microarray technique for identifying candidate genes in cattle has been discussed. In case of microarray, cDNA microarrays have been replaced to oligoarrays in order to minimize the experimental errors in cattle. Since the first draft of bovine genome sequences was appeared in the public domain, more markers in relation to the quantitative traits will be discovered in a short period of time and genes affecting difficult-to-measure traits, such as disease resistance, can also be selected for marker assisted selection in near future.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.707-713
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• 2018

This study was done to search for positional candidate genes associated with the back fat thickness trait using a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) in purebred Yorkshires (N = 1755). Genotype and phenotype analyses were done for 1,642 samples. As a result of the associations with back fat thickness using the Gemma program (ver. 0.93), when the genome-wide suggestive threshold was determined using the Bonferroni method ($p=1.61{\times}10^{-5}$), the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers with suggestive significance were identified in 1 SNP marker on chromosome 2 (MARC0053928; $p=3.65{\times}10^{-6}$), 2 SNP markers on chromosome 14 (ALGA0083078; $p=7.85{\times}10^{-6}$, INRA0048453; $p=1.27{\times}10^{-5}$), and 1 SNP marker on chromosome 18 (ALGA0120564; $p=1.44{\times}10^{-5}$). We could select positional candidate genes (KCNQ1, DOCK1, LOC106506151, and LOC110257583), located close to the SNP markers. Among these, we identified a potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member gene (KCNQ1) and the dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (DOCK1) gene associated with obesity and Type-2 diabetes. The SNPs and haplotypes of the KCNQ1 and DOCK1 genes can contribute to understanding the genetic structure of back fat thickness. Additionally, it may provide basic data regarding marker assisted selection for a meat quality trait in pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1524-1528
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• 2005

Molecular genetic markers were used to detect chromosomal regions which contain economically important traits such as growth, carcass, and meat quality traits in pigs. A three generation resource population was constructed from a cross between Korean native boars and Landrace sows. A total of 240 F2 animals from intercross of F1 was produced. Phenotypic data on 17 traits, birth weight, body weights at 3, 5, 12, and 30 weeks of age, teat number, carcass weight, backfat thickness, body fat, backbone number, muscle pH, meat color, drip loss, cooking loss, water holding capacity, shear force, and intramuscular fat content were collected for F2 animals. Animals including grandparents (F0), parents (F1), and offspring (F2) were genotyped for 80 microsatellite markers covering from chromosome 1 to 10. Least squares regression interval mapping was used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) identification. Significance thresholds were determined by permutation tests. A total of 10 QTL were detected at 5% chromosome-wide significance levels for growth traits on SSCs 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8.

• 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.23 no.11
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• pp.1510-1518
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• 2010

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of lighting schedule and nutrient density on growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 576 day old Arbor Acre male chickens was used with a $4{\times}2$ factorial arrangement. The four lighting schedules were continuous (23 L:1 D, CL), 20 L:4 D (12 L:2 D:8 L:2 D), 16 L:8 D (12 L:3 D:2 L:3 D: 2 L:2 D) and 12 L:12 D (9 L:3 D:1 L:3 D:1 L:3 D:1 L:3 D) and provided by incandescent bulbs. The two nutrient densities were high (H, starter diet: 13.39 MJ/kg apparent metabolisable energy (AME), 23.00% crude protein (CP); finisher diet: 13.39 MJ AME/kg, 19.70% CP) and low energy and protein level (L, starter diet: 12.03 MJ AME/kg, 20.80% CP; finisher diet: 12.14 MJ AME/kg, 18.30% CP). Houses with dark curtains and solid sidewalls were used. Chickens were randomly allocated to the 8 treatments with each treatment comprising 6 replicates of 12 chickens. Feed and water were available ad libitum. Lighting schedules showed no difference (p>0.05) in growth performance at the end of the experiment. 12 L:12 D significantly reduced (p<0.05) the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) compared to 23 L:1 D treatment. Intermittent lighting (IL) schedules produced higher protein content (p<0.001) in breast meat. Birds on high density diets had higher body weight (BW), feed intake (FI) (p<0.001), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p<0.001) throughout the experiment with the exception of 36 to 42 d. High nutrient density increased (p<0.05) abdominal fat, decreased (p<0.05) the moisture loss of meat, and reduced percentage of wings and legs. There was a significant lighting schedule${\times}$diet interaction (p<0.001) on FCR for days 8 to 14 and 15 to 21. Results indicated that IL can give similar growth performance in comparison with CL, meanwhile with positive effects on meat quality by increasing protein content and decreasing the concentration of MDA. High nutrient density resulted in greater growth performance.