Guidelines for experimental design and statistical analyses in animal studies submitted for publication in the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences

Seo, Seongwon,Jeon, Seoyoung,Ha, Jong K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2018 Animal Bioscience Vol.31 No.9

Animal experiments are essential to the study of animal nutrition. Because of the large variations among individual animals and ethical and economic constraints, experimental designs and statistical analyses are particularly important in animal experiments. To increase the scientific validity of the results and maximize the knowledge gained from animal experiments, each experiment should be appropriately designed, and the observations need to be correctly analyzed and transparently reported. There are many experimental designs and statistical methods. This editorial does not aim to review and present particular experimental designs and statistical methods. Instead, we discuss some essential elements when designing an animal experiment and conducting statistical analyses in animal nutritional studies and provide guidelines for submitting a manuscript to the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences for consideration for publication.

Growth and Development of the Academic Societies and Animal Production in Korea, China and Asia over the Last 50 Years

Han, In K.,Ha, Jong K.,Lee, J.H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2009 Animal Bioscience Vol.22 No.6

The Korean Society of Animal Science (KSAS) was officially born on October 8, 1956 under the leadership of Professor Sang W. Yun of Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea a few years after the end of the Korean War. At that time, there were 0.9 million Korean native cattle, 1.3 million pigs and 8.9 million chickens in Korea. Per capita income for Korea (US$ 66) or China (US$ 59) was about 10% of Asian's average income (US$ 513) in 1956. Korea produced less than 0.2 million M/T of formula feed and consumed 6.1 kg/person/year of animal products. One could say that Korea was an example of an under-developed country in the world. Although the first issue of the Proceedings of the KSAS was published on October 28, 1958, regular quarterly journals of the KSAS were not published until March 1, 1969. Major activities other than publishing its journal were: holding an annual meeting and/or scientific forum at national or international level. The Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (AAAP) was founded on September 1, 1980 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with founding members from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, NZ, Philippines and Thailand. Thirteen AAAP Animal Science Congresses have been held in its 28 year history. Hosting countries were Malaysia (1980), Philippines (1982), Korea (1985), NZ (1987), Taiwan (1990), Thailand (1992), Indonesia (1994), Japan (1996), Australia (2000), India (2002), Malaysia (2004), Korea (2006) and Vietnam(2008). In 1988, significant progress of the AAAP was made by creating an official English journal of the AAAP entitled "Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (AJAS)" under the initiative of the KSAS. This journal is now published monthly and distributed to more than 50 countries in the AAAP region and the world. It should be mentioned that the KSAS was able to successfully host the $3^{rd}$ AAAP Animal Science Congress in 1985 and the 12th in 2006, as well as the $8^{th}$ WCAP in 1998. During the last 50 years of KSAS history, per capita income of Korea increased to US$ 17,690 (268 fold), formula feed production increased to 15 million M/T (97 fold) and consumption of animal products increased to 105 kg/person/year (17 fold). Cattle, pig and chicken numbers also increased to 2.5 million (2.8 fold), 9 million (7.4 fold) and 119 million (13 fold). This trend was also found for China and Asia, even if the rate of growth was slightly lower than that of Korea. It is expected that a similar rate of growth in economics, animal numbers, formula feed production and animal protein intake will likely be achieved by other Asian countries in the $21^{st}$ century with somewhat lower rate of development than that of Korea.

Publication Report of the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences over its History of 15 Years - A Review

Han, In K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.1

As an official journal of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (AAAP), the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (AJAS) was born in February 1987 and the first issue (Volume 1, Number 1) was published in March 1988 under the Editorship of Professor In K. Han (Korea). By the end of 2001, a total of 84 issues in 14 volumes and 1,761 papers in 11,462 pages had been published. In addition to these 14 volumes, a special issue entitled "Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition" (April, 2000) and 3 supplements entitled "Proceedings of the 9th AAAP Animal Science Congress" (July, 2000) were also published. Publication frequency has steadily increased from 4 issues in 1988, to 6 issues in 1997 and to 12 issues in 2000. The total number of pages per volume and the number of original or review papers published also increased. Some significant milestones in the history of the AJAS include that (1) it became a Science Citation Index (SCI) journal in 1997, (2) the impact factor of the journal improved from 0.257 in 1999 to 0.446 in 2000, (3) it became a monthly journal (12 issues per volume) in 2000, (4) it adopted an English editing system in 1999, and (5) it has been covered in "Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Science since 2000. The AJAS is subscribed by 842 individuals or institutions. Annual subscription fees of US$ 50 (Category B) or US$ 70 (Category A) for individuals and US$ 70 (Category B) or US$ 120 (Category A) for institutions are much less than the actual production costs of US$ 130. A list of the 1,761 papers published in AJAS, listed according to subject area, may be found in the AJAS homepage (http://www.ajas.snu.ac.kr) and a very well prepared "Editorial Policy with Guide for Authors" is available in the Appendix of this paper. With regard to the submission status of manuscripts from AAAP member countries, India (235), Korea (235) and Japan (198) have submitted the most manuscripts. On the other hand, Mongolia, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea have never submitted any articles. The average time required from submission of a manuscript to printing in the AJAS has been reduced from 11 months in 1997-2000 to 7.8 months in 2001. The average rejection rate of manuscripts was 35.3%, a percentage slightly higher than most leading animal science journals. The total number of scientific papers published in the AJAS by AAAP member countries during a 14-year period (1988-2001) was 1,333 papers (75.7%) and that by non- AAAP member countries was 428 papers (24.3%). Japanese animal scientists have published the largest number of papers (397), followed by Korea (275), India (160), Bangladesh (111), Pakistan (85), Australia (71), Malaysia (59), China (53), Thailand (53), and Indonesia (34). It is regrettable that the Philippines (15), Vietnam (10), New Zealand (8), Nepal (2), Mongolia (0) and Papua New Guinea (0) have not actively participated in publishing papers in the AJAS. It is also interesting to note that the top 5 countries (Bangladesh, India, Japan, Korea and Pakistan) have published 1,028 papers in total indicating 77% of the total papers being published by AAAP animal scientists from Vol. 1 to 14 of the AJAS. The largest number of papers were published in the ruminant nutrition section (591 papers-44.3%), followed by the non-ruminant nutrition section (251 papers-18.8%), the animal reproduction section (153 papers-11.5%) and the animal breeding section (115 papers-8.6%). The largest portion of AJAS manuscripts was reviewed by Korean editors (44.3%), followed by Japanese editors (18.1%), Australian editors (6.0%) and Chinese editors (5.6%). Editors from the rest of the AAAP member countries have reviewed slightly less than 5% of the total AJAS manuscripts. It was regrettably noticed that editorial members representing Nepal (66.7%), Mongolia (50.0%), India (35.7%), Pakistan (25.0%), Papua New Guinea (25.0%), Malaysia (22.8%) and New Zealand (21.5%) have failed to return many of t

Differences in microbiome and virome between cattle and horses in the same farm

Park, Jongbin,Kim, Eun Bae Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.6

Objective: The ecosystem of an animal farm is composed of various elements, such as animals, farmers, plants, feed, soil, and microorganisms. A domesticated animal's health is largely connected with the reservoir of bacteria and viruses in animal farms. Although a few studies have focused on exploring the gut microbiome of animals, communities of microbiota and viruses in feedlots have not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: Here, we collected feces and dust samples (4 groups: cattle feces, C_F; horse feces, H_F; cattle dust, C_D; and horse dust, H_D) from cattle and horse farms sharing the same housing and investigated their microbiome/virome communities by Illumina sequencing. Results: Dust groups (C_D and H_D) showed higher microbial diversity than feces groups (C_F and H_F) regardless of animal species. From the microbial community analysis, all the samples from the four groups have major phyla such as Proteobacteria (min 37.1% to max 42.8%), Firmicutes (19.1% to 24.9%), Bacteroidetes (10.6% to 22.1%), and Actinobacteria (6.1% to 20.5%). The abundance of Streptococcus, which commonly recognized as equine pathogens, was significantly higher in the horse group (H_D and H_F). Over 99% among the classified virome reads were classified as Caudovirales, a group of tailed bacteriophages, in all four groups. Foot-and-mouth disease virus and equine adenovirus, which cause deadly diseases in cattle and horse, respectively, were not detected. Conclusion: Our results will provide baseline information to understand different gut and environmental microbial ecology between two livestock species.

Production and Use of Feed for Sustainable Animal Production in Australia - Review -

Rowe, J.B.,Corbett, J.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 1999 Animal Bioscience Vol.12 No.3

This paper summarizes the size and output of the major animal industries in Australia and the feed resource available to maintain production. The most important feed source is pasture but there is also extensive use of cereal grains, pulses and by-products in the intensive animal industries and in supplementing the diet of grazing animals. These resources must be used in ways that ensure sustainable production. We outline a number of Decision Support Systems such as GrazFeed, GrassGro, and AusPig which play an important role in optimizing the way in which resources are used. Waste management with respect to mineral pollution of water courses and methane production as a greenhouse gas are important issues for the animal industries and are also considered.

Non-Conventional Roughages in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Asian-Australasian Countries - Review -

Nitis, I.M. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 1999 Animal Bioscience Vol.12 No.3

Non-conventional roughage (NCR) is shrub and tree fodders, crop residues and agroindustrial oy-products which is not commonly used as livestock feed traditionally and commercially. Eventhough many sources of NCR is available, the farmers perceptions on NCR not only vary from country to country in tropical and sub-tropical Asian-Australasian countries, but also vary from region to region within the country. Chemical composition and nutritive value of NCR are not only vary from species to species but also vary between species within the genera, between provenances/cultivars within the species and such variations are affected by season, climatic zone, topography and land utilization. The nutritive value of NCR can be improved by physical, chemical and biological treatments and conservation. Feeding NCR to ruminant and non-ruminant is not only improve performance of the livestock but also economically feasible. Future direction of NCR is inventarization, exchange information through NCR information centre, integration with either agrisilvicultural, agrisilvipastoral or silvipastoral system, and use of genetic engineering to produce high quality NCR that ultimately become conventional roughage for agroindustry and agribissiness.

Genome wide association study for growth in Pakistani dromedary camels using genotyping-by-sequencing

Sajida Sabahat,Asif Nadeem,Rudiger Brauning,Peter C. Thomson,Mehar S. Khatkar Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2023 Animal Bioscience Vol.36 No.7

Objective: Growth performance and growth-related traits have a crucial role in livestock due to their influence on productivity. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Pakistani dromedary camels was conducted to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with growth at specific camel ages, and for selected SNPs, to investigate in detail how their effects change with increasing camel age. This is the first GWAS conducted on dromedary camels in this region. Methods: Two Pakistani breeds, Marecha and Lassi, were selected for this study. A genotyping-by-sequencing method was used, and a total of 65,644 SNPs were identified. For GWAS, weight records data with several body weight traits, namely, birthweight, weaning weight, and weights of camels at 1, 2, 4, and 6 years of age were analysed by using model-based growth curve analysis. Age-specific weight data were analysed with a linear mixed model that included fixed effects of SNP genotype as well as sex. Results: Based on the q-value method for false discovery control, for Marecha camels, five SNPs at q<0.01 and 96 at q<0.05 were significantly associated with the weight traits considered, while three (q<0.01) and seven (q<0.05) SNP associations were identified for Lassi camels. Several candidate genes harbouring these SNP were discovered. Conclusion: These results will help to better understand the genetic architecture of growth including how these genes are expressed at different phases of their life. This will serve to lay the foundations for applied breeding programs of camels by allowing the genetic selection of superior animals.

Marker-Assisted Mating Applied in In-Situ Conservation of Indigenous Animals in Small Populations : (1) Choosing Mating Schemes for Maximum Heterozygosity

Wu, X.L.,Liu, R.Z.,Shi, Q.S.,Liu, X.C.,Li, X.,Wu, M.S. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2000 Animal Bioscience Vol.13 No.4

Maintaining maximum genetic variability is of critical importance with in-situ conservation of animal species in small populations. Marker-assisted mating (MAM) was suggested to achieve maximum heterozygosity in offspring populations. The aims of this research was to investigate and decide the effectiveness and promising types of MAM to achieve this goal. Analysis of variance with simulation data revealed that the heterozygosity in offspring populations was significantly determined by sire heterozygosity from mating of non-inbred parent animals, and significantly by sire heterozygosity and percent parental difference in offspring reproduced by inbred parents. Seven types of marker-assisted mating schemes were examined, in which offspring exhibited heterozygosity that was -0.01 to 7.37% below or above that from random mating of non-inbred parent animals, and 0.00 to 16.39% above that from random mating of inbred parent animals. The great increase in offspring heterozygosity was observed with mating by tandem maximizing sire heterozygosity, percent parental difference, and dam heterozygosity. Random mating resulted in fluctuation of offspring heterozygosity. These results suggested that MAM was a promising method for maintaining maximum offspring variability in in-situ conservation of animal species in small populations.

The Plasma Level of Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) in Relation to Mammary Circulation and Milk Yield in Two Different Types of Crossbred Holstein Cattle

Chaiyabutr, N.,Komolvanich, S.,Thammacharoen, S.,Chanpongsang, S. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2004 Animal Bioscience Vol.17 No.3

The objective of the present study was to determine the plasma level of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in relation to mammary blood flow and milk yield including biological variables of relevance to milk synthesis in two different types of crossbred Holstein cattle at 3 different stages of lactation. Eight heifers were 87.5% HF and eight 50% HF animals were selected for the experiments. The three stages of lactation tested were: early lactation (30 days postpartum), mid-lactation (120 days postpartum) and late lactation (210 days postpartum). Animals in each group were fed a concentrate and rice straw treated with 5% urea as the source of roughage throughout the experiments. In early lactation, mammary blood flow and milk yield of 87.5% HF animals were significantly higher than those of 50% HF animals. In mid- and late lactation, both mammary blood flow and milk yield showed a proportional decrease from the early lactating period of 87.5% HF animals. The trends for persistency were observed in 50% HF animals as for udder blood flow and milk yield throughout the experimental periods. The plasma glucose level of the 50% HF animals was significantly higher than those of 87.5% HF animals in both early and mid-lactation. The concentrations of arterial plasma free fatty acids ($C_{16}\;to\;C_{18}$) were higher in 50% HF animals as compared with 87.5% HF animals in all periods of study. In early lactation, the concentration of plasma growth hormone (GH) of 87.5% HF animals was higher than those of the 50% HF animals, thereafter the mean level of plasma growth hormone declined in both mid- and late lactation. The concentration of plasma IGF-I of 50% HF animals was significantly higher than those of 87.5% HF animals in all stages of lactation. There were no differences among stages of lactation for the levels of plasma IGF-I, insulin and growth hormone in 50% HF animals. In 87.5% HF animals, the plasma levels of both IGF-I and insulin were lower in early lactating period while it showed an increase during mid- and late lactation. The present results indicated that the regulatory role for the higher mammary blood flow and milk yield during lactation in 87.5% HF are not mediated via the higher level of circulating IGF-I. Differences in mammary blood flow and milk yield between 50% HF and 87.5% HF animals are in part due to a higher concentration of circulating growth hormone. The lower level of circulating growth hormone in 50% HF animals would be regulated by higher levels of IGF-I, free fatty acid and glucose in plasma.

Studies on the Mode of Uptake of Plasma Glucose, Acetate, β- hydroxybutyrate Triglyceride Fatty Acids and Glycerol by the Mammary Gland of Crossbred Holstein Cattle Feeding on Different Types of Roughage

Chaiyabutr, N.,Thammacharoen, S.,Komolvanich, S.,Chanpongsang, S. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.10

The present experiment was carried out to study the utilization of substrates in the mammary gland of crossbred Holstein Friesian during feeding on different types of roughage. Sixteen pregnant crossbred Holstein heifers consisted of two breed types of eight animals each; Holstein Friesian${\times}$Red Sindhi (50:50=50%HF) and Holstein Friesian${\times}$Red Sindhi (87.5:12.5=87.5%HF). Animals were divided into four groups of the same breed type in each group which were fed with either rice straw treated with 5% urea or pangola hay (Digitaria decumbens) as the source of roughage throughout the experiments. Four consecutive experimental periods were carried out in late pregnancy (20-23 days before parturition), early lactation (30 days postpartum), mid-lactation (120 days postpartum) and late lactation (210 days postpartum). Measurement of mammary blood flow in combining with measurement of AV difference was performed for the mammary uptake of substrates. In the period of lactation, udder blood flow was nearly three times higher than that of late pregnant period (p<0.05) in both 50%HF and 87.5%HF feeding on either hay or urea treated rice straw. During mid- and late lactation of both groups of 87.5%HF animals, mammary blood flow and milk yield showed decrease when compared to those during the early lactating period while the trends for persistency were apparent in both groups of 50%HF animals throughout experimental periods. The mean arterial plasma concentrations of glucose, acetate, $\beta$-hydroxybutyrate and free glycerol in each group remained constant throughout experimental periods. During late pregnancy in all groups, the AV difference and extraction ratio of glucose, $\beta$-hydroxybutyrate and triacylglycerol across the mammary gland markedly lowered (p<0.05), which coincided with a lower net uptake by the mammary gland in comparison to the early lactating period. The mean arterial plasma concentration, AV difference and extraction ratio for acetate showed no significant differences between late pregnancy and the early lactating period. The AV difference of free glycerol showed apparent release from mammary tissue during late pregnancy in all groups. In mid- and late lactation, the mammary uptake for glucose, acetate and $\beta$-hydroxybutyrate in both groups of 87.5%HF animals showed apparent decrease as compared to that in the early lactating period, whereas no appearances were observed in 50%HF animals feeding either hay or urea treated rice straw. The mean arterial plasma concentrations for free fatty acid (FFA) and triacylglycerol (C16 to C18) were higher in late pregnancy than in early lactation in both types of crossbred animals. The values of AV difference and the net uptake by the mammary gland for FFA were variable during late pregnancy and lactating periods in all groups. There were no significant differences for AV difference, extraction ratio and net uptake of triacylglycerol during lactation advance in both groups of 50%HF and 87.5%HF animals feeding either hay or urea treated rice straw. These results suggest that the adaptations to either hay or urea treated rice straw by the mammary gland of crossbred HF animals allow for an adequate nutrient supply during pregnancy and lactation. There is no difference in the mode of mammary uptake of substrates in the same crossbred animals in response to feeding hay or urea treated rice straw. The differences in utilizing nutrients by the mammary gland for milk production between 87.5%HF and 50%HF animals would be dependent on changes in both intra-mammary factors and extra-mammary factors.