Molecular characterization of Kappa-casein and β-lactoglobulin genes in Anatolian Black cattle and Holstein breeds

Abstract

κ-Cn and β-lactoglobulin are important candidate genes associated with milk yield and milk protein content. The present investigation is carried out to determine the polymorphisms status of κ-Cn and β-lactoglobulin genes in Anatolian Black cattle and Holstein breeds. PCR-RFLP technique was used to determine Kappa-Casein and β-lactoglobulin polymorphisms in both cattle breeds. The allele frequency of Anatolian Black cattle in terms of κ-Cn and β-lactoglobulin genes were 0.50 (A) 0.50 (B) and 0.20 (A) 0.80 (B) respectively, whereas in Holstein were 0.29 (A) 0.71 (B) and 0.44 (A) 0.56 (B) respectively. The chi-square test showed that each cattle breed was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05).