• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.744-751
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• 2011

Meat production and quality traits in beef cattle are largely affected by genetic factors. Acetyl-Coenzyme A carboxylase-${\alpha}$ (ACACA) plays a key role in the regulation and metabolism of fatty acid biosynthesis in mammalian animals. The gene encoding ACACA enzyme was chosen as a candidate gene for carcass and meat traits. In this study, we investigated effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ACACA gene on beef carcass and meat traits in Hanwoo (Korean cattle) populations. We have sequenced a fragment of intron I region of the Hanwoo ACACA gene and identified two SNPs. Genotyping of the two SNP markers (g.2344T>C and g.2447C>A) was carried out using PCR-SSCP analysis in 309 Hanwoo steers to evaluate their association with carcass and meat production traits. The g.2344C SNP marker showed a significant increasing effect on LW (p = 0.009) and CW (p = 0.017). Animals with the CC genotype had higher CW and LW compared with TT and TC genotypes (p<0.05). The g.2447A SNP marker was associated with higher MC (p = 0.019). Animals with the AA genotype had higher MC than animals with CC and CA genotypes (p<0.05). Although the degree of linkage disequilibrium (LD) was not strong between g.2344T>C and g.2447C>A in the LD analysis, four major haplotype classes were formed with two SNP information within the ACACA gene. We constructed haplotypes using the HaploView software package program and analyzed association between haplotypes and carcass traits. The haplotype of ACACA gene significantly affected the LW (p = 0.027), CW (p = 0.041) and MC (p = 0.036). The effect of h1 haplotype on LW and CW was larger than that of h3 haplotype. Animals with the h1 haplotype also had greater MC than did animals with h2 haplotype. Consequently, the ACACA gene could be useful as a DNA marker for meat production traits such as carcass yield and meat contents in Hanwoo.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1327-1333
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• 2007

Lactose synthase catalyses the formation of lactose which is the major osmole of bovine milk and regulates the milk volume. Alpha-lactalbumin (${\alpha}$-LA) is involved in the synthesis of lactose synthase in the mammary gland. Therefore ${\alpha}$-LA is regarded as a plausible candidate gene for the milk yield trait. To determine whether ${\alpha}$-LA is associated with milk performance traits, 1,028 Chinese Holstein cows were used to detect polymorphisms in the ${\alpha}$-LA by means of single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Two nucleotide transitions were identified in the 5'flanking region and intron 3 of ${\alpha}$-LA. Associations of such polymorphisms with five milk performance traits were analyzed using a general linear model procedure. No significant associations were observed between these polymorphisms and the five milk performance traits (p>0.05). RH mapping placed ${\alpha}$-LA on BTA5q21, linked most closely to markers U63110, CC537786 and L10347 (LOD>8.3), which is far distant from the region of the quantitative trait locus (QTL) on bovine chromosome 5 for variation in the milk yield trait. In summary, based on our findings, we eliminated these SNPs from having an effect on milk performance traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.905-911
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• 2011

Polymorphisms of BMP15 gene exon 2 and its relationship with prolificacy of goats were detected by PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing methods in Chinese two local goat breeds. The results showed that the product amplified by the primers displayed polymorphisms. Three genotypes (AA, BB and AB) were detected in Funiu white goats, and their frequency was 0.071, 0.715, 0.214, respectively. Two genotypes (AB and BB) were detected in Taihang black goats, and their frequency was 0.342 and 0.658, respectively. Sequencing revealed that four mutations (456T${\rightarrow}$G, 466C${\rightarrow}$G, 510C${\rightarrow}$T, 511T${\rightarrow}$C) occurred in genotype BB of Funiu white goat, which resulted in amino acid substitution of V155G and S171P. No mutation was detected in Taihang black goat. The Funiu white goat with genotype BB had 0.91 or 0.82 kids, more than those with AB or AA, respectively. The difference of the least squares means for litter size between BB and AB was not significant (p>0.05) in Taihang black goat. It is concluded that the BMP15 gene may be a major gene which affects the prolificacy in Funiu white goats. This study could provide basic molecular data on the reproductive characteristics of local breeds of Henan province in China, and a scientific basis for the conservation and utilization of those two goat breeds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.911-915
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate allele frequencies at the CSN1S2 locus in two Chinese dairy goat breeds and the effects of its variation on dairy goat economic traits. Seven hundred and eight goats from Xinong Saanen (XS, n = 268) and Guanzhong (GZ, N = 440) breeds were selected. The milk samples of 268 XS goats were collected during the middle of lactation, body size parameters (708 goats) and daily milk yield (202 goats) were registered. The RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and SSCP (single strand conformation polymorphism) were used to detect the polymorphisms in CSN1S2. The Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium and the associations between body size, milk yield and composition and the genotypes were calculated. The results revealed that only A and F CSN1S2 alleles were found in the two Chinese dairy goat breeds. Allelic frequencies of A and F were 0.795, 0.205 and 0.739, 0.261 in Xinong Saanen and Guanzhong population respectively. Xinong Saanen breed was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while Guanzhong breed deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p<0.05). The association of polymorphism with economic traits indicated that the goats with FF genotype have higher milk fat and total solid concentration than those with AA and AF genotypes (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.863-866
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• 2010

Myostatin, which is also known as growth and differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), has been reported to act as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle development. Variation in the myostatin gene (MSTN) has been associated with variation in muscularity in certain "meaty" sheep breeds. Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Strand Conformational Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis was used to investigate allelic variation in the previously described g+6223G>A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of MSTN. The sheep studied were 79 New Zealand (NZ) Romney lambs derived from a single sire heterozyous for g+6223G>A, which is in itself notable as this polymorphism has not been described previously in this breed. Allelic variation was observed to be associated with an abnormal gender ratio (p = 0.046) in the progeny. The presence of allele A was observed to have an effect (p<0.05) on birth weight, mean loin yield, proportion yield loin and total muscle yield. Allelic variation did not significantly affect mean shoulder yield, leg yield, proportion yield shoulder and proportion yield leg. This preliminary result suggests that while the A allele at MSTN g+6223 appears to improve some valuable traits in NZ Romney sheep, further research is required to understand if and how it may affect other traits.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2006

Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and AFLP were used for isolation of genomic sex determination markers in Penaeus monodon. A total of 256 primer combinations were tested against 6-10 bulked genomic DNA of P. monodon. Five and one candidate female- and male-specific AFLP fragments were identified. Female-specific fragments were cloned and further characterized. SCAR markers derived from FE10M9520, FE10M10725.1, FE10M10725.2 and FE14M16340 provided the positive amplification product in both male and female P. monodon. Further analysis of these markers using SSCP and genome walk analysis indicated that they were not sex-linked. In addition, sex-specific (or differential) expression markers in ovaries and testes of P. monodon were analyzed by RAP-PCR (150 primer combinations). Twenty-one and fourteen RAP-PCR fragments specifically/differentially expressed in ovaries and testes of P. monodon were successfully cloned and sequenced. Expression patterns of 25 transcripts were tested against the first stranded cDNA of ovaries and testes of 3-month-old and broodstock-sized P. monodon (N = 5 and N = 7 - 10 for females and N = 4 and N = 5 - 7 for males, respectively). Five (FI-4, FI-44, FIII-4, FIII-39 and FIII-58) and two (M457-A01 and MII-51) derived RAP-PCR markers revealed female- and male-specific expression patterns in P. monodon. Surprisingly, MII-5 originally found in testes showed a higher expression level in ovaries than did testes of juvenile shrimps but a temporal female-specific pattern in P. monodon adults.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.843-853
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• 2014

In the context of artificial groundwater recharge, a reactive soil column at pilot-scale (4.5 m depth and 3 m in diameter) fed by treated wastewater was designed to evaluate soil filtration ability. Here, as a part of this project, the impact of treated wastewater filtration on soil bacterial communities and the soil's biological ability for wastewater treatment as well as the relevance of the use of multi-bioindicators were studied as a function of depth and time. Biomass; bacterial 16S rRNA gene diversity fingerprints; potential nitrifying, denitrifying, and sulfate-reducing activities; and functional gene (amo, nir, nar, and dsr) detection were analyzed to highlight the real and potential microbial activity and diversity within the soil column. These bioindicators show that topsoil (0 to 20 cm depth) was the more active and the more impacted by treated wastewater filtration. Nitrification was the main activity in the pilot. No sulfate-reducing activity or dsr genes were detected during the first 6 months of wastewater application. Denitrification was also absent, but genes of denitrifying bacteria were detected, suggesting that the denitrifying process may occur rapidly if adequate chemical conditions are favored within the soil column. Results also underline that a dry period (20 days without any wastewater supply) significantly impacted soil bacterial diversity, leading to a decrease of enzyme activities and biomass. Finally, our work shows that treated wastewater filtration leads to a modification of the bacterial genetic and functional structures in topsoil.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7555-7560
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• 2013

Background: Beedi rollers are exposed to unburnt tobacco dust through cutaneous and pharyngeal route and it is extremely harmful to the body since it is carcinogenic in nature and can cause cancer during long exposure. This indicates that occupational exposure to tobacco imposes considerable genotoxicity among beedi workers. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 27 beedi workers and age and sex matched controls were enrolled for clinical, cytogenetics and molecular analysis. Clinical features were recorded. The workers were in the age group of 28-67 years and were workers exposure from 8-60 years. Blood samples were collected from workers and control subjects and lymphocyte cultures were carried out by using standard technique, slides were prepared and 50 metaphases were scored for each sample to find the chromosomal abnormalities. For molecular analysis the genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, to screen the variations in gene, the exon 1 of CYP1A1 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then screened with Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. Results: A statistically significant increase was observed in the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in exposed groups when compared to the respective controls and variations observed in Exon 1 of CYP1A1(Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1) gene. Conclusions: This study shows that, the toxicants present in the beedi that enter into human body causes disturbance to normal state and behavior of the chromosomes which results in reshuffling of hereditary material causing chromosomal aberrations and genomic variations.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.370-373
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• 2010

In fabricating plasma display panels, the photolithographic process is used to form patterns of barrier ribs with high accuracy and high aspect ratio. It is important in the photolithographic process to control the refractive index of the photosensitive paste. The composition of this paste for photolithography is based on the $B_2O_3-SiO_2-Al_2O_3$ glass system, including additives of alkali oxides and rare earth oxides. In this work, we investigated the density, structure and refractive index of glasses based on the $B_2O_3-SiO_2-Al_2O_3$ system with the addition of $Li_2O$, $K_2O$, $Na_2O$, CaO, SrO, and MgO. The refractive index of the glasses containing K2O, Na2O and CaO was similar to that of the [BO3] fraction while that of the SrO, MgO and Li2O containing glasses were not correlated with the coordination fraction. The coordination number of the boron atoms was measured by MAS NMR. The refractive index increased with a decrease of molar volume due to the increase in the number of non-bridging oxygen atoms and the polarizability. The lowest refractive index (1.485) in this study was that of the $B_2O_3-SiO_2-Al_2O_3-K_2O$ glass system due to the larger ionic radius of $K^+$. Based on our results, it has been determined that the refractive index of the $B_2O_3-SiO_2-Al_2O_3$ system should be controlled by the addition of alkali oxides and alkali earth oxides for proper formation of the photosensitive paste.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4727-4732
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• 2015

Background: Folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS), an important enzyme in the folate metabolic pathway, plays a central role in intracellular accumulation of folate and antifolate in several mammalian cell types. Loss of FPGS activity results in decreased cellular levels of antifolates and consequently to polyglutamatable antifolates in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Materials and Methods: During May 1997 and December 2003, 134 children diagnosed with ALL were recruited from one hospital in Thailand. We performed a mutation analysis in the coding regions of the FPGS gene and the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within FPGS in a case-control sample of childhood ALL patients. Mutation screening was conducted by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and subsequently with direct sequencing (n=72). Association analysis between common FPGS variants and ALL risk was done in 98 childhood ALL cases and 95 healthy volunteers recruited as controls. Results: Seven SNPs in the FPGS coding region were identified by mutation analysis, 3 of which (IVS13+55C>T, g.1297T>G, and g.1508C>T) were recognized as novel SNPs. Association analysis revealed 3 of 6 SNPs to confer significant increase in ALL risk these being rs7039798 (p=0.014, OR=2.14), rs1544105 (p=0.010, OR= 2.24), and rs10106 (p=0.026, OR=1.99). Conclusions: These findings suggested that common genetic polymorphisms in the FPGS coding region including rs7039789, rs1544105, and rs10106 are significantly associated with increased ALL risk in Thai children.