Distribution of Major Allelic Variants at Exon-IV of Kappa Casein Gene in Indian Native Cattle

The present study was aimed to screen the pattern of major allelic variants of kappa casein (κ-CN) locus across 744 animals representing 17 Indian native cattle breeds adapted to different agroclimatic regions. A 935 bp fragment of κ-CN exon IV region was PCR amplified and digested with Hind III and Hae III restriction enzymes to reveal the frequency distribution of A, B and E alleles. The digestion with Hind III pattern revealed a single 935 bp fragment or three fragments of 935, 520 and 415 bps, whereas Hae III digestion displayed a monomorphic pattern of 641 and 294 bps fragments in all the studied samples. On analysis, only two alleles A and B were detected. AA genotype was most commonly distributed (0.818), with predominance of A allele (0.908). The present analysis indicated contrasting allelic pattern at κ-CN locus in Indian native cattle in comparison to that reported for Bos taurus.