MOLECULAR MARKER ASSISTED STUDY OF KAPPA-CASEIN GENE IN NILI-RAVI (BUFFALO)
BREED OF
PAKISTAN
M. N. RIAZ,N. A. MALIK, F. NASREEN AND J. A. QURESHI
Health Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and
Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad,
Pakistan
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the existence of polymorphism at
Kappa-casein (k-CN)
locus in the Nili-Ravi buffalo. A PCR-RFLP method was used to distinguish
buffalo k-CN
alleles. The genotypes were confirmed through specific, clearly distinguishable
DNA band pattern resulting from digestion with three selected restriction
enzymes (HinfI,
HaeIII and MaeII). Analysis of 163 animals revealed that all animals were
monomorphic, showing only BB genotype. It was concluded thatk-CN
B allele, which has significant effect on milk quality reported previously, may
be included in breeding strategies of dairy animals. The monomorphism for k-CN
locus observed in buffalo population can lead to the development of a method to
identify mixtures of cow and buffalo milk in cheese processing.
Key words:
Genotyping, k-CN,
milk protein polymorphism, PCR- RFLP