Vol. 9, Special Issue 3 (2024)

Author(s): Selvaramesh AS and Narmatha N

Abstract: Polymorphism of β casein gene in cattle focus attention to many researchers in animal breeding and dairy sector. Among the twelve β casein variants A1 and A2 are the most common and in zebu cattle the most abundant variant is A2. Research studies shows that A1 allelic variants involved with few health hazards in human being over A2. This study was conducted to find the occurrence of β casein variants in Pulikulam cattle of Tamil Nadu. DNA was isolated from 100 numbers of pulikulam cattle. Polymorphic site was amplified with allele specific primers through Polymerase Chain Reaction. Frequencies of A1 and A2 alleles were 0.090 and 0.910 respectively. The values of experimental heterozygosity (Heobs), theoretical heterozygosity (Heexp), and polymorphism information content (PIC) were 0.1400, 0.1646 and 0.1504 respectively. Results shows high frequency of A2 allele and animals with A2 allele may be used for breeding plans to maintain A2 alleles.