Variance Component Estimates with Dominance Models for Milk Production in Holsteins of Japan Using Method R

Kawahara, Takayoshi,Gotoh, Yusaku,Yamaguchi, Satoshi,Suzuki, Mitsuyoshi Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.6

Fractions of herd-year-season, sire by herd interaction, additive genetic and dominance genetic variances were estimated for milk production traits in Holsteins of Japan using Method R. Inbreeding depressions for milk production traits were also estimated. Estimated fractions of herd-year-season variances ranged from 0.056 to 0.074 for yield traits and from 0.033 to 0.035 for content traits. Estimated fractions of additive genetic variances to phenotypic variances (heritabilities across a herd in the narrow sense) were 0.306, 0.287, 0.273, 0.255, 0.723, 0.697 and 0.663 for milk, fat, SNF and protein yields, and fat, SNF and protein contents, respectively. Estimated fractions of dominance genetic variances ranged from 0.019 to 0.022 for yield traits and from 0.014 to 0.018 for content traits. Fractions of variances for sire by herd interaction were estimated to range from 0.020 to 0.025 for yield traits and 0.011 to 0.012 for content traits. Estimates of inbreeding depression for milk, fat, SNF and protein yields were -36.16 kg, -1.42 kg, -3.24 kg and -1.15 kg per 1% inbreeding for milk, fat, SNF and protein yields, respectively. Estimates of depression per 1% inbreeding for content traits were positive at $0.39{\times}10^{-3}%$, $0.31{\times}10^{-3}%$ and $0.82{\times}10^{-3}%$ for fat, SNF and protein contents, respectively.

Caffeine promotes premature chromosome condensation formation and in vitro development in porcine reconstructed embryos via a high level of maturation promoting factor activity during nuclear transfer.

Kawahara, Manabu,Wakai, Takuya,Yamanaka, Ken-Ichi,Kobayashi, Jin,Sugimura, Satoshi,Shimizu, Takashi,Matsumoto, Hiromichi,Kim, Jin-Hoi,Sasada, Hiroshi,Sato, Eimei BioScientifica 2005 Reproduction Vol.130 No.3

<P>When the nucleus in G0/G1 phase is transferred to an enucleated oocyte by nuclear transfer (NT), its nuclear envelope is broken, followed by condensation of chromosome structure by maturation promoting factor (MPF). This morphological remodeling of the transferred interphase nucleus seems to be essential for subsequent development of NT embryos. In this study, we treated porcine NT embryos with caffeine, which has been reported to increase MPF activity, to keep their MPF level high during NT. When 2.5 mM caffeine was added to the handling medium, the proportion of NT embryos showing condensed chromosome increased significantly (P < 0.05). In NT embryos treated with caffeine, the activity of p34(cdc2) kinase was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in those without caffeine at 3 h post-injection. In addition, the rate of development to the blastocyst stage after activation was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in NT embryos treated with caffeine. These results indicate that caffeine treatment can increase not only the rate of chromosome condensation but also the developmental rate to the blastocyst stage of porcine NT embryos. This action is most likely due to the support/increase of MPF activity throughout the process of NT.</P>

Effect of Heating on Polymerization of Pig Skin Collagen Using Microbial Transglutaminase

Erwanto, Yuny,Muguruma, Michio,Kawahara, Satoshi,Tsutsumi, Takahiko,Katayama, Kazunori,Yamauchi, Kiyoshi,Morishita, Toshiro,Morishita, Toshiro,Watanabe, Shohei Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.8

Polymerization of heated or unheated pig skin collagen using microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) was investigated. Pig skin collagen samples were heated or left unheated, then enzymatically polymerized with MTGase. SDS-PAGE was conducted to confirm the intermolecular polymer and the results showed similar bands between samples without MTGase and unheated samples with MTGase. The polymerized product of pig skin collagen was not formed in unheated samples, even when MTGase was added during incubation. Different results were obtained from samples heated at $80^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ for 2 min, whereas the SDS-PAGE pattern indicated that a polymer band was generated in both cases. The heat treatment successfully modified the native structure of collagen and also made collagen more reactable in the MTGase polymerization system. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) investigation of pig skin collagen showed a biopolymer structure through intermolecular collagen crosslinking, while there were no intermolecular crosslinks in samples not treated with MTGase. There were no significant differences in fibril diameter between treated samples and controls. These results suggest that heat treatment of native pig skin collagen enhanced the polymerization capability of MTGase.

Peptic Hydrolysate of Porcine Crude Myosin Has Many Active Fractions Inhibiting Angiotensin I-converting Enzyme

Katayama, Kazunori,Fuchu, Hidetaka,Sugiyama, Masaaki,Kawahara, Satoshi,Yamauchi, Kiyoshi,Kawamura, Yukio,Muguruma, Michio Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2003 Animal Bioscience Vol.16 No.9

In order to clarify one of the biological functions of pork, we investigated whether a peptic hydrolysate of denatured porcine crude myosin showed inhibitory activity against angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), which contributed to hypertension. Our results indicated that this hydrolysate showed relatively strong activity, and we therefore attempted to separate the involved peptides, which were considered to be active substances. To isolate these active peptides, the hydrolysate was separated using a solidphase separation, gel filtration high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and two kinds of reverse phase HPLC. In each stage of separation, many fractions were detected, almost all of which showed ACE inhibitory activity. Thus, we suggested that the activity of the hydrolysate as a whole was a result of the activities of the many individual peptides. Six peaks were distinguished, with yields from 34 to 596 ppm of original crude myosin. In addition to the six peaks, many other active fractions were found throughout the separation steps, strongly suggesting that whole porcine crude myosin itself had ACE inhibitory activity. Moreover, pork as food was considered to function as an ACE inhibitory material in vivo, because pork proteins consist primarily of crude myosin, which included almost all the myofibrillar structural proteins.

Changes in expression of the autophagy-related genes microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3β and autophagy related 7 in skeletal muscle of fattening Japanese Black cattle: a pilot study

Tomonori Nakanishi,Tadaaki Tokunaga,Takafumi Ishida,Ikuo Kobayashi,Yuta Katahama,Azusa Yano,Laurie Erickson,Satoshi Kawahara 아세아·태평양축산학회 2019 Animal Bioscience Vol.32 No.4

Objective: Autophagy is a bulk degradation system for intracellular proteins which contributes to skeletal muscle homeostasis, according to previous studies in humans and rodents. However, there is a lack of information on the physiological role of autophagy in the skeletal muscle of meat animals. This study was planned as a pilot study to investigate changes in expression of two major autophagy-related genes, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3β (MAP1LC3B) and autophagy related 7 (ATG7) in fattening beef cattle, and to compare them with skeletal muscle growth. Methods: Six castrated Japanese Black cattle (initial body weight: 503±20 kg) were enrolled in this study and fattened for 7 months. Three skeletal muscles, M. longissimus, M. gluteus medius, and M. semimembranosus, were collected by needle biopsy three times during the observation period, and mRNA levels of MAP1LC3B and ATG7 were determined by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system, another proteolytic mechanism, were also analyzed for comparison with autophagy-related genes. In addition, ultrasonic scanning was repeatedly performed to measure M. longissimus area as an index of muscle growth. Results: Our results showed that both MAP1LC3B and ATG7 expression increased over the observation period in all three skeletal muscles. Interestingly, the increase in expression of these two genes in M. longissimus was highly correlated with ultrasonic M. longissimus area and body weight. On the other hand, the expression of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system was unchanged during the same period. Conclusion: These findings suggest that autophagy plays an important role in the growth of skeletal muscle of fattening beef cattle and imply that autophagic activity affects meat productivity.