Effect of Beta Casein Genotypes on Milk Production Traits in Sahiwal Cattle

Abstract

The study was conducted to find the association of -casein locus with the milk performance traits in Sahiwal cattle (n=157). Two different variants of β-casein were detected from DNA by ARMS-PCR. It was found that the frequency of A allele was predominantly high (0. 98±0.01) than that of B allele (0.02±0.01) in the population studied. The least square means showed that cows with β-casein produced higher fat yield in AB genotype (0.60±0.10 kg) than the AA (0.33±0.02 kg). The cows with β-casein AB genotype also produced more yields of SNF (1.07±0.19 kg) and milk (11.81±2.10 kg) than those with AA genotype whose values were 0.59±0.04 and 6.48±0.41 kg, respectively. Therefore, !-casein locus can be useful in the selection of animals for higher yields of fat, SNF and milk. DNA based markers are of the better choice since animals can be screened at very early age instead of waiting for animals to come in milking stage.