• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제21권8호
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• pp.1109-1115
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• 2008

The reproduction component traits are important components of sow efficiency. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic and genetic parameters of four reproduction component traits (age at puberty (AP), preweaning number dead (PND), weaning to service interval (WSI), and intra-individual SD in litter size (IISDLS)) of sows in two Chinese indigenous pig breeds. Available reproductive records including 22,591 piglets born from 2,054 litters by 574 Jiangquhai sows and 464 Meishan sows were used in this investigation. A set of mixed models and restricted maximum likelihood methodology were used for the multiple trait analyses of these traits. The results showed that the estimates of heritabilities (${\pm}$standard error) for AP, PND, WSI and IISDLS were $0.40{\pm}0.05$, $0.06{\pm}0.03$, $0.20{\pm}0.02$ and 0.09{\pm}0.03 in Jiangquhai sows, and $0.35{\pm}0.06$, $0.05{\pm}0.03$, $0.18{\pm}0.03$ and $0.10{\pm}0.04$ in Meishan sows, respectively. There was moderate genetic correlation between AP and WSI, while there were low genetic correlations between the other pairwise traits. The genetic correlations were positive for most of the pairwise traits, except for the one between AP and IISDLS. The results indicated that all traits except for AP were difficult to make genetic improvement by traditional selection methods due to low heritabilities and the favorable improvement of AP might result in unfavorable changes of IISDLS due to the trend of genetic antagonism.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권7호
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• pp.1141-1155
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• 2024

Objective: RNA epigenetic modifications play an important role in regulating immune response of mammals. Bovine mastitis induced by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a threat to the health of dairy cattle. There are numerous RNA modifications, and how these modification-associated enzymes systematically coordinate their immunomodulatory effects during bovine mastitis is not well reported. Therefore, the role of common RNA modification-related genes (RMRGs) in bovine S. aureus mastitis was investigated in this study. Methods: In total, 80 RMRGs were selected for this study. Four public RNA-seq data sets about bovine S. aureus mastitis were collected and one additional RNA-seq data set was generated by this study. Firstly, quantitative trait locus (QTL) database, transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) database and differential expression analyses were employed to characterize the potential functions of selected enzyme genes in bovine S. aureus mastitis. Correlation analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were used to further investigate the relationships of RMRGs from different types at the mRNA expression level. Interference experiments targeting the m⁶ A demethylase FTO and utilizing public MeRIP-seq dataset from bovine Mac-T cells were used to investigate the potential interaction mechanisms among various RNA modifications. Results: Bovine QTL and TWAS database in cattle revealed associations between RMRGs and immune-related complex traits. S. aureus challenged and control groups were effectively distinguished by principal component analysis based on the expression of selected RMRGs. WGCNA and correlation analysis identified modules grouping different RMRGs, with highly correlated mRNA expression. The m⁶ A modification gene FTO showed significant effects on the expression of m⁶ A and other RMRGs (such as NSUN2, CPSF2, and METTLE), indicating complex co-expression relationships among different RNA modifications in the regulation of bovine S. aureus mastitis. Conclusion: RNA epigenetic modification genes play important immunoregulatory roles in bovine S. aureus mastitis, and there are extensive interactions of mRNA expression among different RMRGs. It is necessary to investigate the interactions between RNA modification genes regulating complex traits in the future.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.24-39
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• 2021

Background: To address the lack of evidence supporting invasion by three invasive plant species (Imperata cylindrica, Lantana camara, and Chromolaena odorata) in tropical ecosystems, we compared the ecophysiological and leaf anatomical traits of these three invasive alien species with those of species native to Sempu Island, Indonesia. Data on four plant traits were obtained from the TRY Plant Trait Database, and leaf anatomical traits were measured using transverse leaf sections. Results: Two ecophysiological traits including specific leaf area (SLA) and seed dry weight showed significant association with plant invasion in the Sempu Island Nature Reserve. Invasive species showed higher SLA and lower seed dry weight than non-invasive species. Moreover, invasive species showed superior leaf anatomical traits including sclerenchymatous tissue thickness, vascular bundle area, chlorophyll content, and bundle sheath area. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that leaf anatomical traits strongly influenced with cumulative variances (100% in grass and 88.92% in shrubs), where I. cylindrica and C. odorata outperformed non-invasive species in these traits. Conclusions: These data suggest that the traits studied are important for plant invasiveness since ecophysiological traits influence of light capture, plant growth, and reproduction while leaf anatomical traits affect herbivory, photosynthetic assimilate transport, and photosynthetic activity.

• 한국산업정보학회논문지
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.25-32
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• 2020

농업에서 가장 기본이 되는 종자는 생산과 효율을 높이는 중요한 요소다. 우수한 유전자를 가진 종자를 통해 농업의 생산성 향상을 기대할 수 있고, 작물의 생존 및 번식을 증진시킬 수 있다. 하지만 현재 우수한 종자의 선별은 대부분이 수작업에 의존하고 있기 때문에 많은 시간과 인력을 요구한다. 제안된 연구에서는 종자의 표현체 특성을 추출하기 위해 컴퓨터 영상처리기술을 이용하여 적은 인력과 비교적 짧은 시간으로 종자의 특징을 추출할 수 있는 시스템을 제안한다. 제안된 시스템은 다량의 종자가 포함된 영상으로부터 개별 종자를 검출하고, 검출된 개별 종자마다 대표색상, 면적, 둘레, 진원도 (Roundness)와 같은 다양한 특징을 추출하고 저장한다. 입력 영상의 규칙성 때문에 제안된 시스템의 개별 종자추출의 정확도는 콩 종자의 경우 99.12%, 벼 종자의 경우 99.76%이다. 추출된 데이터는 향후 전문가의 의견을 반영한 각종 데이터 분석을 위한 기초자료로 활용되며 종자별 표현형 특성을 결정하는 기초자료로 사용될 것이다.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제61권3호
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• pp.147-153
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• 2019

A goal for swine farming is the improvement in the number of live-born and weaned piglets per sow. Hence, the effect of parities should consider the correlation between the component traits of reproductive performance, weaning, and duration. Sows were housed in farrowing pens (W 2.2 ${\times}$ D 1.8 ${\times}$ H 1.2 m) on a partially slatted plastic floor. Twenty sows used in this study were between the first and sixth parity in gilts (P1), parity 2-5 (P3), and parity 6-9 (P6). Data collection by parity was classified into three categories: (1) reproduction performance (gestation length, total number of piglets born, number of piglets live born, number of piglets stillborn, total piglet birth weight; (2) weaning traits (weaning period, number of piglets weaning, total piglets weaning weight); (3) duration traits (farrowing duration, placenta expulsion duration, time from last piglet to first placenta, average birth interval, and tail wagging behavior). Gestation length was higher in P6 than P1 and P3 of different parity sows. The maximum value in P1 and P3 was 117 days, but the median value in P6 was 117 days (p < 0.05). The total number of piglets born (p = 0.113), number of piglets live born (p = 0.118), number of still piglets born (p = 0.151), and total piglet birth weight (p = 0.117) were not affected by parity. The number of live piglets was higher than the other parities by an average of $15.6{\pm}2.1$ in P1. The duration of farrowing was the lowest at 22.2 min in P6, but the maximum value was 42.2 min more than other parities (p = 0.355). Weaning traits of sows also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), but the weaning period from P1 was lower than that of the other parities (p = 0.170). The number of piglets weaned was 10 heads on average in P1, P3, and P6 (p < 0.05). However, the mean values of the total piglet weaning weight (p = 0.377) of P6 (62.0 10.4 kg) were higher than those of P1 (54.9 10.2 kg) and P3 (58.4 13.6 kg). The placenta expulsion duration was higher in P6 than that in P1 and P3 (p = 0.447). The time from the last piglet to first placenta was be lower in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.206). The average birth interval was higher in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.156). Tail wagging (count) behavior was higher in P6 than in the other parities (p = 0.065). The data showed that the reproduction performance, total piglets born, and weight were higher in the gilts group, and higher in the weaning trait than that in the P6 group. This study examined the relationship between reproductive performance, birth interval and tail motion according to sow parity. Regarding duration, farrowing duration was lower in P6 than that in the other parities, but placenta expulsion and tail wagging were higher in P6 than in the other parities. Therefore, it is possible that the results from these sows could be used as basic data for effective farm management.