Characterization of Genetic Polymorphism of the Bovine Lymphocyte Antigen DRB3.2 Locus in Kankrej Cattle (Bos indicus)

Abstract

Bovine lymphocyte antigen DRB 3.2 (BoLA-DRB3.2) gene encodes for the beta chain of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule in cattle, which is a glycoprotein present on the surface of antigen-presenting cells. This locus shows extensive polymorphism in it. The objective of the present study was to genotype the BoLA-DRB3.2 locus in Kankrej cattle (n = 50) by PCR-RFLP. Bovine DNA was isolated from aliquots of whole blood. Primers specific for exon 2 of the bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3 gene were used to amplify the region. The 304-bp amplified product of the DRB3 gene was separately digested with restriction endonucleases RsaI, BstYI, and Hae III. Twenty-four BoLA-DRB 3.2 alleles were identified with frequencies ranging from 1 to 22.0%. Twenty-one alleles of the total 24 alleles were similar to those reported earlier; 3 alleles were new and had not been reported previously. The allele BoLA-DRB3.2*34 occurred at the highest frequency of 22% (approx.) in the Kankrej animals studied. Six alleles (BoLA-DRB3.2 *34, *15, *06, *20, *37, and *20) accounted for almost 71% of the total alleles observed to be present in the Kankrej animals. All the new alleles observed were present at frequencies of 1%. The results obtained in the present study demonstrated that the BoLA DRB3.2 locus is highly polymorphic in the Kankrej cattle.

Polymorphism of locus DRB3.2 in populations of Creole Cattle from Northern Mexico

“…The results of this study show that Chihuahua and Tamaulipas Creole cattle have a high degree of BoLA-DRB3.2 polymorphism, in concordance with findings in other populations, such as the American Creole cattle (Giovambattista et al, 1996;Kelly et al, 2003;Ripoli et al, 2004;Martinez et al, 2005), European taurine breeds (Sharif et al, 1998), Asian taurine breeds (Takeshima et al, 2003), and the Zebu Gir breed (da Mota et al, 2002;Behl et al, 2007). In this study, allele DRB3.2*24 showed the highest frequency (0.38) in Chihuahua Creole cattle, and it has also been reported to be present at frequencies higher than 0.1 in all taurine populations (Giovambattista et al, 1996;Sharif et al, 1998;Gilliespie et al, 1999;Kelly et al, 2003).…”

“…In the 98 animals tested, we identified 52 BoLA-DRB3.2 alleles; 28 had already been reported (van Eijk et al,1992;Gelhaus et al,1995;Maillard et al,1999;Gilliespie et al,1999;Behl et al, 2007) and 24 were new patterns. The identified alleles and their frequencies are shown in Table 1.…”

“…In addition, this polymorphism can be used to study the genetic relationships between populations and to assess their levels of genetic differentiation. Presently, extensive information is available on the levels of genetic diversity of exon 2 of the DRB3 gene in different populations of cattle, obtained by amplification of this segment by PCR, and subsequent digestion with endonucleases (Gilliespie et al, 1999;Kelly et al, 2003;Martinez et al, 2005;Behl et al, 2007). The objective of this study was to investigate the level of genetic diversity present in the MHC BoLA-DRB3.2 locus in two Creole cattle populations from northern Mexico.…”

“…The class II BoLA-DR region is composed of one DRA locus and at least three DRB loci (DP, DQ, and DR) (Muggli-Cockett and Stone, 1989). The MHC allele diversity is associated with the ability to recognize a large number of antigens, resulting in a more efficient immune response (Behl et al, 2007). So it may be interesting to assess the level of allele diversity in the BoLA-DRB3.2 gene in a population that is under great pressure for survival under tough conditions, such as the Mexican Creole cattle populations.…”

The Major Histocompatibility Complex in Bovines: A Review

“… n a -Total number of alleles in the breed studied, n a a number of alleles with frequency higher than 0.05 N -Total number of animals studied, b Sharif et al [108], c Dietz et al [109], d Dietz et al [110], e Gilliespie et al [111], f Ripoli et al [112], g Giovambattista et al [113], h Takeshima et al [114], i Udina et al [115], j Nassiry et al [116], k Mosafer and Nassiry [117], l Kulberg et al [118], m Behl et al [119], n Behl et al [120], o Behl et al [121], p Pashmi et al [122], q Wang et al [123], r Mohammadi et al [124], s Yoshida et al [125], t Miyasaka et al [126]. …”