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Korean Bioinformation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 305-806, KoreaABSTRACT Chicken eggs undergo various physiological changes during egg maturation. To study genes associated with the egg maturation in pre-ovulation (immature) and post-ovulation (mature), we compared gene expression patterns between in the immature egg and mature egg using RNA sequencing data. Mature and immature eggs were obtained from a Heuksaek Jaerae-jong of Korean native chicken. Total RNAs obtained from the eggs were sequenced by Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform, and the generated sequence reads were mapped to Galgal4 reference sequence assembly using Tuxedo Protocol. From the comparison of the RNA sequencing data, 315 genes were differentially expressed between mature and immature eggs, and 46 genes were only detected in immature egg. Further gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed for the differentially expressed genes using DAVID, showing that 29 and 28 GO terms were independently clustered from mature and immature, respectively. From those clustered GO terms, genes related to germ cell development, sex differentiation and defense response to bacterium were mainly expressed in the immature egg, while genes related to regulation of apoptosis, steroid metabolic process and lipid homeostasis were mainly detected in the mature egg. Our results could contribute to understand egg maturation before and after ovulation, and develop genetic markers for improving egg quality and productivity.(Key words : egg maturation, RNA sequencing, gene ontology, differential gene expression)

The objective of this study was to investigate the calf death and analyse the causes of the mortality by based on medical records and autopsy findings during 10 years in a large dairy farm. Total of 1,361 calf born and 146 calf dead during the invested period. Mortality rate was 10.7% and showed the big difference by year-specific mortality from 2.8% (4 calves) to 19.2% (28 calves). The highest rate of mortality was 1 week age (18.5%, 27 calves) and followed by 2 week age (11.6%, 17 calves) and mortality of more old calf tended to be reduced. The death less than 4 weeks and 8 weeks of age of the entire mortality accounted for 41.1% (60/146 calves) and 70.0% (102/146 calves), respectively. Causes of calf death were digestive diseases (53.4%), respiratory diseases (17.1%), musculoskeletal disease (8.2%), and systemic disease (8.2%) in order. Specific causes of calf death was highest in enteritis (43.2%), followed by pneumonia (14.4%), sepsis (8.2%) and fractures (3.4%). Seasonally, most of calf death happened in winter (48.6%) and then fall (21.2%). This results showed that enteritis and pneumonia are the main reason of calf death but other reasons were involved in calf death on the based on autopsy finding. On going research relating factors of calf mortality is needed.

The investigation was made about distribution and ecological characteristics of host plant for Phellinus linteus at habitats in Gangwon-Do. The habitats of P. linteus are the place where the fog is much generated and there is lots of the moisture. The flora of the vascular plants in P. linteus habitats were consisted of 76 taxa; 62 species, 10 varieties and 4 formas of 62 genera of 40 families. The plants of infiltration type were found 70% around P. linteus habitats. This results shows that the natural environments of P. linteus habitat is very stable condition. The categories of vegetation were classified into two types. The host plant for P. linteus appeared 61.6% from Populus tomentiglandulosa. The first type showed up above the sea about 600m and west exposure region. The second type was investigated around the facing north region of the steep slope-land.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the duration of retained placenta (RP) on postpartum diseases and culling in dairy cows. Data were collected from 456 Holstein cows between 2008 and 2010. RP ( 24 h after parturition) and postpartum diseases were diagnosed by farm managers and a veterinarian according to standardized definitions. The overall incidence rate of RP was 14.0%, and the incidence rate of RP with fourth and higher parity was two times that of cows having offspring for the first time. The duration of RP was 2 to 15 days with a mean of 6.8 days, except for cases of fourth and higher parity which had a mean of 10.5 days. A total of 63% of cows with RP had postpartum diseases. Among the cows diagnosed with RP, 23.4% developed metritis, and of those, 35.3% developed endometritis or pyometra. A total of 25% (n = 16) cows with RP were culled within 60 days in milk (DIM) and of those culled, 75% (n = 12) had postpartum diseases. These results suggest that RP increases the risk of postpartum diseases such as metritis and mastitis and is a culling hazard up to 60 DIM.

This experiment was held to identify the germination feature of Papaver radicatum var. pseudoradicatum which has high economical value. Seeds were collected in the Mt. Changbai in China. To eliminate dormancy of the seeds, chilling treatment were carried out in the refrigerator. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days of chilling treatments were taken. After being Treated, seeds were under 15, 20, of temperature and light, dark conditions respectively to see the differences in germination. Within many features, germination ratio of seeds and germination period were investigated. Also, features related to early growth were checked through the closer look into acrospire, growth of cotyledon of young plant. Over 30 days of chilling treatment was all effective. Especially, 120 days of chilling treatment was most effective. The seeds germinated well in the light conditions. 120 days of chilling treatment, , light conditions were found to be most effective conditions as 54.5% of the seeds germinated. The germination period was 4.29 days. 30 days after germinating, length of the aerial part had been 1.90 cm. But after 45 days, the length grew rapidly to 4.58 cm. Fresh weight of scales plant was also increased dramatically after 45 days. Therefore, transporting the plant 45 days after seeding judged to be good.

텔로미어란 진핵세포의 염색체 양 말단에 있는 DNA-단백질 복합체로서, 특정단백질과 TTAGGG의 반복염기서열로 구성되어있다. 이들의 기능은 핵 내 염색체의 안정성에 본질적으로 작용함으로 세포의 노화와 직접적 관련이 있다고 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 소의 간기상태의 백혈구 세포를 대상으로 연령별, 품종별, 성별간 telomeric DNA 함량을 분석하여 이러한 요인들이 텔로미어 함량에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고 또한, 텔로미어 함량을 이용한 개체의 연령예측 가능성을 제시하고자 하였다. 소의 텔로미어의 함량 분석은 1개월령에서 166개월령의 한우 및 홀스타인종 460두를 대상으로 telomeric DNA probe를 이용한 Q-FISH 방법으로 분석하였다. 분석 결과 소에 있어서 연령이 증가함에 따라 telomeric DNA 함유율이 일관되게 점진적으로 감소되는 양상을 보였다. 소의 품종간 telomeric DNA 함유율을 비교한 결과 한우의 telomeric DNA 함량이 홀스타인종에 비해 유의적으로 높게 나타났으며, 성별 간에도 수컷이 암컷에 비해 유의적으로 높은 telomeric DNA 함유율을 나타내어 품종별, 성별 모두 텔로미어 함유율의 유의적인 차이가 있음 확인 할 수 있었다(P $\hat{Y}$ = $38 $38.102X^2$ -220.103X+318.309(P $R^2$ =0.80 0.8019)이고, 홀스타인 암컷은 $\hat{Y}$ = $42 $42.799X^2$ -199.682X+242.106(P $R^2$ =0.83 0.8379)으로 분석되었다. 이상의 두 회귀식 모두 유의한 함수로 결정계수( $R^2$ ) 또한 0.8 이상의 높은 상관 값을 보임에 따라 본 회귀식으로 소의 연령 예측이 가능함을 제시하고자 한다. 【Telomeres at the end of chromosomes consist of tandem repeats of (TTAGGG)n DNA sequence and associated proteins. Telomeres have the essential functions in chromosome stability and genome integrity and are hence related to cell senescence and cancer. This study was carried out to quantify the amount of telomeric DNA and establish age prediction equations by using the quantity of telomeric DNA for cattle. Analysis of the telomere quantity of the lymphocytes was performed at different age, across breeds and between different sexes of cattle. We quantified the amount of telomeric DNA by the Q-FISH technique using the telomeric DNA probe in 460 cattle at age of 1~166 months in Korean Cattle and Holstein breeds. In results, we found that the amount of telomeric DNA decreased gradually with age. The amount of telomeric DNA of Korean Cattle was significantly higher than that of Holstein breed (P $\hat{Y}$ = $38 $38.102X^2$ -220.103X + 318.309 (P $R^2$ =0.80 0.8019) in Korean Cattle females and $\hat{Y}$ = $4 $42.799X^2$ - 199.682X + 242.106 (P $R^2$ = 0.8 0.8379) in Holstein females, where the X was quantity of telomeric DNA and Y was predicted age in months. These equations predicted the age of cattle with high significance and accuracy and have high R square values. Thus, it could be possible to scientifically predict the age using the above equations for Korean Cattle and Holstein females.】

This research conducted a vegetation survey on Mt. Changbai which are habitats of Papaver radicatum var. pseudoradicatum to obtain a basic data for artificial cultivation. The habitas of P. radicatum var. pseudoradicatum consisted of two communities as Dryas octopetala var. asiatica community and Aconogonon ajanense community. The community units as D. octopetala var. asiatica community and A. ajanense community belong to alpine vegetation in Mt. Changbai. A. ajanense community is distributed around altitude of 2007-2061m, and D. octopetala var. asiatica community is distributed altitude of 2350-2570m at relatively high elevation. According to the correlation between the vegetation structure and elevation. This vegetation structure can be simplified at the herb layer. The vegetation is classified into D. octopetala var. asiatica community and A. ajanense community on the axis 1 basis in the BC ordination analysis. Further, there appeared higher plant life totalling to 40 taxa comprising 35 species, 4 varieties and 1 forma with 20 families and 34 genuses at the whole survey area. Among these, Cyperaceae and Ericaceae plants excellent in resistance to environment was surveyed the most, accounting for 16%.

Sun Ho Choi, Sang Woo Kim, Soon Hwangbo*, Chang Yong Choe and Jin Hyoung KimNational Institute of Animal Science, RDA.ABSTRACTA study was conducted to examine the effect of the castration time on growth, meat quality and fatty acid composition of Korean black goats. Forty five male kids were divided into five groups, including control (without castration) and four groups with the kids castrated at 0.5, 3, 5 and 7 months of age, respectively. Average daily body weight gain(ADG) for control was significantly(P

Young Moo Cho, Byung Ki Park, Eung Gi Kwon, Wang Shik Lee, Chang Yong Choe, Sam Kyu Son and Seong Koo HongNational Institute of Animal Science, RDAABSTRACTThis experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of ruminally inserted artificial fiber (RIAF; polymerized fibrous implements) on growth performance, feed intake and carcass characteristics of Hanwoo steers. Thirty six steers averaging 368.3±20.3kg were randomly assigned into three groups: control group, the ruminal insertion of three pieces (T1), and five pieces (T2) of RIAF. Average daily gain, feed intakes and conversions among treatments were similar. Numbers of rumen villi were higher in RIAF treatment (T1 and T2) groups than control group, but they were not significant (p>0.05). The length of villi were significantly longer in T2 than control group (p 0.05). There was no differences on carcass traits inc1uding longissmus muscle area, back fat thickness, marbling score, meat color, and fat color among treatments.(Key words :Hanwoo steer, RIAF, Feed intake, Villi, Carcass characteristics)

A village grove is the one fostered and protected for a district's traditional life near the vicinity of a ruderal village. This research is done to grasp potential natural vegetation, to use a basis data needed for its management and preservation as well as restoration project by examining the vegetation and flora targeting a village grove of the southern district of Gyeonggi-do which has been seriously damaged subsequent to a rapidly progressing city development. According to the survey, there appeared an outgrowth flora of Pteridophyta consisting of 69 families, 136 genera, 20 varieties, 3 forms, 170 species-totalling to 193 taxa. Urbanization index was revealed to 4.55% and naturalization rate 6.74%. In life-cycle pattern, perennials were found to show the highest distribution rate; in infiltration-multiplication strategies, human wave tactics type was found to be the highest 51%, consisting of 98 species, and naturalization rate also was revealed to be 6.74%. The vegetation unit was divided into a total of 11 patterns, such as a community of Pinus densiflora community, Pinus densiflora-Pinus rigida community, Pinus densiflora-Castanea crenata community, Pinus rigida community, Pinus rigida-Castanea crenata community, Pinus rigida-Quercus acutissima community, Castanea crenata community, Castanea crenata-Quercus acutissima community, Quercus acutissima community, Quercus acutissima-Robinia pseudo-acacia community and Robinia pseudo-acacia community. Quercus acutissima community is of a community type dominated by Quercus acutissima, in place of Pinus densiflora community selected by natural succession.

The success of AI technology is based on both semen quality and freezing process. In order to establish the semen freezing techniques in Korean native bucks, factors affecting the success were evaluated in the present study. Semen collected by electro-ejaculation from bucks during four distinct seasons was evaluated for semen volume and pH, sperm motility and survivability. The semen volume, concentration and total cell were higher in spring, summer and less in winter. Yet, there were no seasonal differences in the proportional data of live sperm, motility score and pH of semen among seasons. The percentage of live sperm after thawing was found to increase with increased concentration of lactose in Tris-Egg yolk-glycerol (TY-G), being highest in TY-G supplemented with 180 mm lactose (TYL180-G), but did not differ between TY-G and TYL120-G. Sperm motility was enhanced by employing 2.0 h equilibration time with rapid freezing method. In conclusion, semen could be frozen with high success rates for further use of AI in breeding techniques and to preserve the Korean native bucks.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dosage and number of days of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) treatment on superovulatory response in controlled internal drug release (CIDR)-treated Korean native cows. Forty cows underwent two superovulatory treatments with a crossover design. Cows, at random stages of the estrous cycle, received a CIDR together with injections of 1 mg estradiol benzoate and 50 mg progesterone, and gonadotropin treatment began 4 days later. The cows were divided into 2 groups based on the dosage and number of days of treatment with porcine FSH; a total of 28 mg FSH was given in twice daily intramascular injections in decreasing doses over 4 days (5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2 and 2 mg; T1 group, n=20) or a total of 24 mg FSH was given in twice daily decreasing doses over 3 days (5, 5, 4, 4, 3 and 3 mg; T2 group, n=20). This was followed by the alternate treatment in the subsequent superovulation. The cows were treated identically in all other respects. PGF(2alpha) (25 mg and 15 mg) was given with the 5th and 6th injections of FSH, CIDR were withdrawn at the 6th FSH injection and the cows received 200 microg GnRH 36 h after CIDR withdrawal. The cows were artificially inseminated twice, at 48 and 60 h after CIDR withdrawal, using commercial semen from four Korean native bulls, and embryos were recovered 6 or 7 days after the 2nd insemination. The numbers of corpora lutea (CL; 7.9+/-1.0 vs. 8.3+/-1.1) and large follicles (1.2+/-0.2 vs. 1.3+/-0.3) present at the time embryo recovery, as detected by ultrasonography, did not differ between the T1 and T2 groups (P0.05). Similarly, the numbers of total ova/embryos (6.2+/-0.9 vs. 6.4+/-1.1), transferable embryos (3.4+/-0.8 vs. 3.2+/-0.7), degenerate embryos (0.8+/-0.2 vs. 1.0+/-0.3) and unfertilized ova (2.1+/-0.5 vs. 2.2+/-0.5) did not differ between the groups (P0.05). These data indicate that a reduced dose (24 vs. 28 mg) and number of treatments (6 vs. 8) of FSH for superovulation of CIDR-treated Korean native cows does not affect the embryo yield.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exposing porcine ovaries to 30-33 C during transportation for 4 h and subsequently room temperature (25 C) for 6 h of storage on in vitro maturation (IVM) and subsequent parthenogenetic development of oocytes collected from the ovaries. After IVM, oocytes having a tight oopalsm membrane and no signs of degeneration were exposed to Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) with 7% ethanol (v/v) for 7 min to induce parthenogenetic activation. Moreover, we also determined whether exposure of the collected oocytes to room temperature for 1, 2 and 4 h in DPBS or porcine follicular fluid (pFF) affected parthenogenetic development. When porcine ovaries were stored after transportation, oocytes collected from the stored ovaries showed a significantly higher rate of degeneration after 65 h of IVM (58.4%) and a significantly lower rate of cleavage after parthenogenetic activation (40.1%) than oocytes collected from ovaries immediately after transportation (38.9% and 47.4%, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in developmental rates to the morula and blastocyst stages between these two groups (14.4% and 14.3%, respectively). The duration of preservation, 1, 2, and 4 h, of oocytes in DPBS did not affect parthenogenetic development. In contrast, when preserved for 4 h in pFF, the developmental rates of the oocytes were significantly decreased. This suggested that some factor(s) in follicular fluid affects the developmental rate of oocytes with the passage of time in ambient conditions. These results suggest that even after 6 h storage of ovaries, oocytes having normal morphology after IVM have the same rate of parthenogenetic development as oocytes collected from ovaries just after 4 h of transportation, except for a lower cleavage rate, and that exposure of oocytes to room temperature for 4 h in DPBS does not affect their parthenogenetic developmental competence.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of superovulatory protocols by synchronizing the emergence of the follicular wave using estradiol benzoate (EB) or GnRH in CIDR-treated, Korean cows. Sixty-six cows were used in the study and these were divided into three groups. The standard group comprised cows that were between days 8 and 12 of their estrous cycle ( n =22). The remaining 44 cows, at all other stages of the estrous cycle, received CIDR and were assigned to two treatment groups that received either 2mg EB (EB-CIDR group, n =22) or 100μg GnRH (GnRH-CIDR group, n =22) 1 day after CIDR insertion. Gonadotropin treatment began between the 8th and 12th days of the estrous cycle in the standard group, 5 days after EB injection in the EB-CIDR group, and 3 days after GnRH injection in the GnRH-CIDR group. All cows were superovulated with porcine FSH (pFSH) twice daily, with the dose (total 28mg) decreasing gradually over 4 days. On the 5th and 6th injections of pFSH, 25 and 15mg doses of PGF 2α were administered. CIDR was withdrawn at the 7th pFSH injection and the cows received 200μg GnRH at 24h after CIDR withdrawal. Cows were artificially inseminated twice at 36 and 48h post-CIDR withdrawal and embryos were recovered 7 days after the 1st insemination. The numbers of preovulatory follicles (22.9–28.2), ovulated preovulatory follicles (17.6–21.7) and CL (15.9–17.9) detected by ultrasonography did not differ among groups ( P >0.05). Similarly, the numbers of total ova (6.7–10.0), transferable embryos (4.0–6.0), degenerate embryos (1.1–1.8) and unfertilized ova (1.3–4.3) did not differ among groups ( P >0.05). Progesterone and estradiol concentrations during superovulation treatments and at embryo recovery were also the same in all groups ( P >0.05). We conclude that in CIDR-treated Korean native cows, superovulatory treatments that follow administration of either EB or GnRH (at any stage of the estrous cycle) result in both a superovulatory response and embryo yield comparable to conventional superovulation protocols.

The changes in serum levels of immunoglobulins G, M and A of dairy and beef calves of well-managed herds were monitored from birth to 14 days post partum using single radial immunodiffusion. Serum levels of all three immunoglobulin classes reached its peak at 24 hours in both groups of calves after birth, at which time there were very high levels of each immunoglobulin present. The mean IgM and IgA levels of the two groups became same at 6 days and 8 days of age, respectively but the mean IgG level of beef calves was approximately twice that of dairy calves throughout the experiment.