Optimizing genomic prediction using low-density marker panels for streptococcosis resistance in red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.).

Streptococcosis is a major disease that causes huge economic losses to tilapia farming in Thailand. Breeding for Streptococcosis agalactiae resistant strains using the pedigree BLUP method has proven an effective approach to control the disease in red tilapia, but the accuracy of selection is relatively low. Genomic selection, which is based on genome-wide markers to predict genomic breeding values of selection candidates, provides a powerful approach for accelerating genetic progress and producing permanent gains in the population. We evaluated the implementation of four genomic prediction models, GBLUP, ssGBLUP, BayesB and BayesC, using 19 sets of SNP markers (ranging from 500 to 24 582 SNPs) in 886 fish challenged with S. agalactiae. The accuracy of prediction was estimated using a five-fold cross-validation approach, with 708 and 178 individuals sampled for the training and validation sets respectively. Prediction of the accuracy of each of the models was improved substantially compared with PBLUP (10%) using 1000 informative SNPs. The GBLUP model (65%), which required less computing time, outperformed the remaining models - ssGBLUP (53%), BayesB (47%) and BayesC (42%).

Production of biobutanol from acid-pretreated corncob using Clostridium beijerinckii TISTR 1461: Process optimization studies.

Corncob is a potential feedstock in Thailand that can be used for fermentable sugar production through dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. To recover high amounts of monomeric sugars from corncob, the sulfuric pretreatment conditions were optimized by using response surface methodology with three independent variables: sulfuric acid concentration, temperature, and time. The highest response of total sugars, 48.84 g/L, was found at 122.78°C, 4.65 min, and 2.82% (v/v) H2SO4. With these conditions, total sugars from the confirmation experiment were 46.29 g/L, with 5.51% error from the predicted value. The hydrolysate was used as a substrate for acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation to evaluate its potential for microbial growth. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) showed that C. beijerinckii TISTR 1461 can generate acetone-butanol-ethanol products at 11.64 g/L (5.29 g/L acetone, 6.26 g/L butanol, and 0.09 g/L ethanol) instantly using sugars from the hydrolysed corncob with Novozymes 50013 cellulase enzyme without an overliming process.

Release of monomeric sugars from Miscanthus sinensis by microwave-assisted ammonia and phosphoric acid treatments.

Microwave-assisted ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) followed by phosphoric acid (H3PO4) treatments were used to release monomeric sugars from Miscanthus sinensis grown in Cha-Chueng-Sao province, Thailand. Treatment with 1.0% (w/v) NH4OH, 15:1 liquid-to-solid ratio (LSR) at 120 °C temperature for 15 min liberated 2.9 g of monomeric sugars per 100 g of dried biomass, whereas the corresponding yield for a treatment with 1.78% v/v H3PO4, 15:1 LSR at 140 °C for 30 min was 62.3 g/100 g. The two-stage pretreatment, treatment with NH4OH at 120 °C temperature for 15 min followed by treatment with H3PO4 at 140 °C for 30 min, impressively provided the highest total monomeric sugar yield of 71.6 g/100 g dried biomass.