• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.1452-1462
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Agaricus blazei polysaccharide (ABP) at varying concentrations on the performance, egg quality, blood biochemistry, intestinal morphology, and microflora of quail. Methods: The study involved a total of 2,700 Korean quails, which were randomly divided into three groups. The measured variables encompassed productive performance, egg parameters, carcass parameters, serum metabolites, immune response parameters, antioxidative properties, and gut microbiome. Results: The addition of ABP did not have a significant effect on average daily feed intake. However, it was found to increase the average daily egg weight and egg production rate, reduce the feed-egg ratio. There were no significant impacts on egg quality measures such as egg shape index, egg yolk index and color, egg yolk and protein content. However, ABP supplementation significantly increased the Hough unit (p<0.01) and decreased the rate of unqualified eggs (p<0.01). Regarding serum parameters, the inclusion led to an increase in total protein concentration (p<0.05) and a reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.05). There were no significant effects observed on immune indicators such as immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgM. ABP supplementation increased the levels of serum antioxidant indicators, including glutathione peroxidase, total superoxide dismutase (p<0.05), and total antioxidant capacity colorimeter (p<0.05). Furthermore, ABP supplementation significantly elevated the intramuscular fatty acid content in quail meat. Additionally, ABP supplementation demonstrated a significant improvement in the diversity of gut microbiota and induced alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that dietary supplementation of ABP enhanced production performance and antioxidant capacity while increasing the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in quail muscle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 1991

Collection, evaluation and preservation of tropical forage grasses, napier grass breeding, tissue culture of pangola grass and alfalfa selection were conducted in Taiwan. The results showed that some species such as pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) with good performance and wide adaptability were selected and released. Forage yield and quality of napier grass have been improved and have good results in animal performance. Embryogenic callus cultures from young inflorescences and stem segments of pangola grass could provide an alternative method for rapid propagation and improvement. Three better varieties of alfalfa were selected. They maintain satisfactory stands for two or three years on well-drained sand loam and loam soil, and used only as annual crop in flat area and acid soil. However, more studies in forage breeding for acid soil arc required to maximise the forage quality and animal production. Thus, animal fed with forages of high quality and a few grains supplement will be the future achivement in livestock industry.

• 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.21 no.3
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• pp.314-319
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• 2008

Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is one of the most important domestic avian species in the world. In the present research, fifteen polymorphic microsatellite markers were used to evaluate the diversity and population structure of 26 Chinese indigenous duck breeds across the country. The Chinese breeds showed high variation with the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranging from 0.401 (Jinding) to 0.615 (Enshi), and the expected heterozygosity (He) ranging from 0.498 (Jinding) to 0.707 (Jingjiang). In all of the breeds, the values of Ho were significantly lower than those of He, suggesting high selection pressure on these local breeds. AMOVA and Bayesian clustering analysis showed that some breeds had mixed together. The FST value for all breeds was 0.155, indicating medium differentiation of the Chinese indigenous breeds. The FST value also indicated the short domestication history of most of Chinese indigenous ducks and the admixture of these breeds after domestication. Understanding the genetic relationship and structure of these breeds will provide valuable information for further conservation and utilization of the genetic resources in ducks.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.931-937
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• 2006

The full-length cDNA of the porcine SMPX gene was obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The nucleotide sequences and the predicted protein sequences share high sequence identity with both human and mouse. The promoter of SMPX was sequenced and then analyzed to find the promoter binding sites. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that SMPX has a high level of expression in heart and skeletal muscle, a very low expression in lung and spleen and no expression in liver, kidney, fat and brain. Moreover, SMPX has a differential expression level in skeletal muscle, the expression in 65-day embryos being higher than other stages. The porcine SMPX was mapped to SSCXp24 by using a somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP) and was found closely linked to SW1903 using the radiation hybrid panel IMpRH. An A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) was detected in eight breeds. The analysis of allele frequency distribution showed that introduced pig breeds (Duroc and Large White) have a higher frequency of allele A while in the Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Qingping pig, Lantang pig, YushanBlack pig, Large Black-White pig, Small Meishan) have a higher frequencies of allele G. The association analysis using an experimental population (188 pigs), which included two cross-bred groups and three pure-blood groups, suggested that the SNP genotype was associated with intramuscular fat content.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1379-1382
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• 2005

High prolificacy in Garole sheep is due to existence of FecB mutation in an autosomal gene, bone morphogenetic protein receptor. The mutation enhances ovulation rate and in turn litter size in Garole sheep. Garole sires were crossed with non-prolific Malpura ewes with the aim to introduce prolificacy into Garole${\times}$Malpura (G${\times}$M) crosses through FecB introgression programme. In the present study, the effect of carrying booroola allele on litter size and live body weight was analyzed. The average litter size at birth was found to be 1.87 and 1.48 in the Garole and the G${\times}$M crosses, respectively. At weaning, 6-month, 9-month and 12-month of age, body weights were not affected by the presence of booroola allele (p>0.05); however, a significant effect (p<0.05) was found on body weight at birth in G${\times}$M crosses. In Garole sheep, no significant effect of FecB was observed on live weights in any age group. The interaction between the genetic group and the FecB genotype was also found to be non-significant.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.334-340
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic components of daily milk yield and to re-rank bulls in South Korea by estimated breeding value (EBV) under heat stress using the temperature-humidity index (THI). Methods: This study was conducted using 125,312 monthly test-day records, collected from January 2000 to February 2017 for 19,889 Holstein cows from 647 farms in South Korea. Milk production data were collected from two agencies, the Dairy Cattle Genetic Improvement Center and the Korea Animal Improvement Association, and meteorological data were obtained from 41 regional weather stations using the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) installed throughout South Korea. A random regression model using the THI was applied to estimate genetic parameters of heat tolerance based on the test-day records. The model included herd-year-season, calving age, and days-in-milk as fixed effects, as well as heat tolerance as an additive genetic effect, permanent environmental effect, and direct additive and permanent environmental effect. Results: Below the THI threshold (${\leq}72$; no heat stress), the variance in heat tolerance was zero. However, the heat tolerance variance began to increase as THI exceeded the threshold. The covariance between the genetic additive effect and the heat tolerance effect was -0.33. Heritability estimates of milk yield ranged from 0.111 to 0.176 (average: 0.128). Heritability decreased slightly as THI increased, and began to increase at a THI of 79. The predicted bull EBV ranking varied with THI. Conclusion: We conclude that genetic evaluation using the THI function could be useful for selecting bulls for heat tolerance in South Korea.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.575-583
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of parity and the stage of lactation on the metabolic profile of cows based on the basic chemical milk components and the blood parameters. Methods: The study material consisted of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian cows. In total, 473 cows were examined. According to the parity, cows were divided into four groups: primiparous (P), and multiparous in the second (M2), in the third (M3), and in subsequent lactations (M4). The feeding of cows was based on total mixed ration (TMR) ad libitum. Milk and blood samples were collected individually from each cow three times per standard lactation period. Results: Greater exacerbation of changes in the dynamics of the blood plasma parameters examined was proved for multiparous cows. The highest value of β-hydroxybutyrate acid (0.946 mmol/L) was found for multiparous cows from group M3 at the beginning of lactation. However, it was still in the normal range. The results showed aspartate aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activities in dairy cows during lactation had significant variations taking in to account stage of lactation. The highest activity of GGT was found in the group of the oldest cows and measured from 26.36 U/L at the beginning of lactation to 48.75 U/L at the end of the lactation period. Conclusion: The time-related changes in the concentrations of the biochemical parameters described differ markedly among lactating cows, though the housing conditions on the research dairy farm are highly standardised. This indicates that the ability to cope with metabolic stress is mainly affected by the individual predispositions of cows and feed nutrient supply in different stage of lactation. Especially, the feed nutrient supply (in net energy for lactation), which was the best in TMR 1 in comparison TMR 3.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 2013

The myostatin (MSTN) gene, as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth, has been proposed to be associated with production traits in farm animals. In the present study, a T/C variant at -125 bp (relative to ATG start codon) of 5'regulatory region of rabbit MSTN was identified by direct sequencing. Two hundred and twenty two rabbits, which were randomly sampled from 3 breeds (Ira rabbits, Champagne rabbits and Tianfu black rabbits), were genotyped by high-resolution melting (HRM). Comparing the genotyping results of 47 samples with direct sequencing, the HRM showed high sensitivity (0.96) and high specificity (0.98). In the three rabbit breeds, the allele C was the predominant allele. The polymorphic site showed high heterozygosity (He = 0.48) and high effective number of alleles (Ne = 1.91). The genetic diversity was reasonably informative (0.25

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.622-626
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• 2006

Molecular characterization of Hallikar, the native cattle breed of Karnataka, was undertaken using 19 cattle specific, highly polymorphic microsatellite markers recommended by FAO. The genomic DNA was subjected to PCR amplification and alleles were resolved through six per cent denaturing PAGE with a 10 bp DNA ladder followed by silver staining. Genotyping of animals was done based on allele size. The number of alleles ranged from three to nine with allele sizes ranging from 102 bp to 294 bp. These alleles were distributed in the frequency range between 0.0306 and 0.8673 in the population. The mean observed number of alleles was $6.368{\pm}1.4225$. The mean observed and expected heterozygosities were $0.7515{\pm}0.1734$ and $0.7850{\pm}0.1381$, respectively. The high heterozygosity observed implies presence of higher genetic variability within Hallikar breed. The PIC (Polymorphism Information Content) values ranged from 0.2322 (ETH152) to 0.8654 (ETH225). The percentage of polymorphic loci obtained was 100 as all the 19 microsatellite markers were found to be polymorphic. Except for ETH152, all the other loci had high PIC values, indicating that these markers are highly informative for characterization of Hallikar breed. The population was tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at 19 microsatellite loci, and at 74 per cent of the loci the population was found to be in disequilibrium.