Effects of Confluent, Roscovitine Treatment and Serum Starvation on the Cell-cycle Synchronization of Bovine Foetal Fibroblasts

Cho, SR,Ock, SA,Yoo, JG,Mohana kumar, B,Choe, SY,Rho, GJ Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2005 Reproduction in domestic animals Vol.40 No.2

<P>Contents</P><P>The present study was designed to examine the effects of cell-cycle synchronization protocols, such as confluent, roscovitine treatment and serum starvation, in bovine foetal fibroblasts on synchronization accuracy at G0/G1, viability, apoptosis, necrosis and ploidy for use as a nuclei donor. The cells in 5–10 passages were randomly allocated into three treated groups. Cells were cultured either in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) + 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS) until 90% confluent (group 1, confluent), in DMEM + 10% FBS + 30 <I>μ</I>M roscovitine for 12 h (group 2, roscovitine), or in DMEM + 0.5% FBS for 5 days (group 3, serum starvation). Most of the cells (>80%) in all groups were arrested at the G0/G1 stage. Although the rates did not differ, cells in group 1 showed an increased cell population arrested at the G0/G1 phase. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher rates of apoptosis occurred in group 3 than in group 1 and 2 (10% vs 6% and 6%, respectively). No differences in chromosomal abnormality were observed among groups. However, by increasing the number of cell culture passages up to 15, significantly (p < 0.05) higher chromosomal abnormality was observed than in 5 and 10 passages (39% vs 28% and 23%, respectively) in group 1. The results clearly indicated that bovine foetal fibroblasts could be effectively synchronized at G0/G1 stages by all the three different treatments, confluent, roscovitine and serum starvation. However, cells in confluent showed reduced apoptosis and necrosis when they underwent 5–10 passages, exhibiting increased percentage of cells with stable chromosome diversity. Hence, cells in confluent merit further studies before they could be used as nuclear donors.</P>

Identification of QTLs for domestication-related and agronomic traits in an <i>Oryza sativa</i> × <i>O. rufipogon</i> BC₁F₇ population

Lee, S.-J,Oh, C.-S,Suh, J.-P,McCouch, S. R,Ahn, S.-N Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2005 Plant breeding Vol.124 No.3

<P>Abstract</P><P>Asian cultivated rice was domesticated from the wild rice, <I>Oryza rufipogon</I> and throughout the domestication process, a wide range of morphological and physiological changes altered the ancestral form. This study was conducted to identify the genetic basis of changes associated with the domestication process. An recombinant inbred line (RIL) population consisting of 120 lines was developed from a cross between the <I>japonica</I> cultivar, ‘Hwayeongbyeo’ and a presumed wild progenitor, <I>O. rufipogon</I> Griff. Acc.01944. The population was genotyped with 124 simple sequence length repeat (SSR) markers, providing an average interval size of 15 cM, and also evaluated for 20 traits related to domestication and agricultural performance. A total of 63 quantitative trait locus (QTLs) and one locus associated with qualitative variation for pericarp coloration were identified using single point and composite interval analysis. The number of QTLs per trait ranged from one to seven. Phenotypic variation associated with each QTL ranged from 3.7 to 40.4%, with an average of 15.3%. The results indicated that most domestication-related traits clustered in chromosomal blocks, and the positions of many of these clusters were consistent with those reported in previous studies and with skewed segregation ratios in these BC<SUB>1</SUB>F<SUB>7</SUB> RILs. For 13 (20.6%) of the QTLs identified in this study, the <I>O. rufipogon</I>-derived allele contributed a desirable agronomic effect despite the overall undesirable characteristics of the wild phenotype. Favourable alleles from <I>O. rufipogon</I> were detected for panicle length, spikelets per panicle, days to heading and leaf discoloration associated with cold stress. When compared with previous studies involving interspecific crosses, it can be concluded that <I>O. rufipogon</I> is useful as a source of valuable alleles for rice improvement and that many of the introgressed regions contain genes that have a favourable impact on phenotype in different genetic backgrounds and different environments.</P>

Serodiagnostic Comparison Between Two Methods, ELISA and Surface Plasmon Resonance for the Detection of Antibody Titres of <i>Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae</i>

Kim, T. J.,Cho, H. S.,Park, N. Y.,Lee, J. I. Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2006 JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE -BERLIN- SERIES B- Vol.53 No.2

<P>Summary</P><P>A protein chip based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was developed for measuring the <I>Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae</I> antibody titres using a recombinant 30-kDa fragment of P97 adhesin as an antigen. The diagnostic potential of this SPR assay, for detecting the antibody titres to the <I>M. hyopneumoniae</I> 30-kDa protein, was compared with that of conventional ELISA using 70 pig serum samples taken from six pig farms. The SPR assay was found to be highly specific and sensitive. Moreover, there was a strong positive correlation between the SPR and ELISA titres (<I>n</I> = 70, <I>r</I> = 0.898, <I>P</I> < 0.01). Therefore, this recombinant 30-kDa protein can be used as an antigen for serological studies, and the SPR, which is a label-free method, is expected to be a valuable and reproducible tool in the serodiagnosis of <I>M. hyopneumoniae</I> infection.</P>

Rabies, an Emerging Disease in Korea

Kim, C.-H.,Lee, C.-G.,Yoon, H.-C.,Nam, H.-M.,Park, C.-K.,Lee, J.-C.,Kang, M.-I.,Wee, S.-H. Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2006 JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE -BERLIN- SERIES B- Vol.53 No.3

<P>Summary</P><P>Since the first rabies case was reported in a dog in 1907, the disease was enzootic up to 1975 in Korea. After a steady decrease in the number of rabies cases from 1976 to 1984, no case was reported for 8 years from 1985 to 1992. Then, a resurgence of the disease was noted in 1993, and a continuous increase of rabies cases was observed during the following years. This report provides information on rabies in South Korea during the reemerging period 1993–2003. A total of 364 rabies cases in five different animal species and five deaths in human beings as a result of rabies were reported. Cattle and dogs accounted for 46.4% and 40.4% of total animal cases, respectively, and raccoon dogs commanded an overwhelming majority (44/48) of rabies cases in wildlife animal species. All animal and human rabies cases occurred only in two provinces, Gyeonggi and Gangwon; majority of them in two counties of Gyeonggi and one county of Gangwon province that border the demilitarized zone. From the three counties, the disease continued to expand to the other areas of the two provinces. The average monthly frequency of animal rabies cases during the 11-year period peaked in January, and the incidence was highest during winter. There were three major rabies outbreaks in animals and the number of animal rabies cases increased with time. Data indicate that the temporal patterns were attributable to the ethology of raccoon dogs in the areas of outbreak.</P>

Influence of Seasons, Extenders, Slow and Rapid Freezing on Seminal Characters in Korean Native Bucks

Choe, Chang-Yong,Kim, Jung-Gon,Cho, Sang-Rae,Son, Dong-Soo,Kim, Young-Keun,Balasubramanian, S,Choe, Sang-Yong,Rho, Gyu-Jin Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2006 Reproduction in domestic animals Vol.41 No.1

<P>Contents</P><P>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 m<SMALL>M</SMALL> 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.</P>

Mapping QTLs related to salinity tolerance of rice at the young seedling stage

Lee, S. Y.,Ahn, J. H.,Cha, Y. S.,Yun, D. W.,Lee, M. C.,Ko, J. C.,Lee, K. S.,Eun, M. Y. Wiley-Blackwell Verlag GmbH 2007 Plant breeding Vol.126 No.1

<P>Abstract</P><P>Using a population of recombinant inbred lines of the 164 genotypes derived from a cross between ‘Milyang 23’ (indica) and ‘Gihobyeo’ (japonica) in rice (<I>Oryza sativa</I> L.), salt tolerance was evaluated at a young seedling stage in concentrations of 0.5% and 0.7% NaCl. Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to salt tolerance was carried out by interval mapping using Qgene 3.0. Two QTLs (<I>qST1 and qST3</I>) conferring salt tolerance at young seedling stage were mapped on chromosome 1 and 3, respectively, and explained 35.5–36.9% of the total phenotypic variation in 0.5% and 0.7% NaCl. The favourable allele of <I>qST1</I> was contributed by ‘Gihobyeo’, and that of <I>qST3</I> by ‘Milyang 23’. The results obtained in 0.5% and 0.7% NaCl for 2 years were similar in flanked markers and phenotypic variation.</P>