Status of milk protein, ß-casein variants among Indian milch animals

Abstract

The role of Al and A2 beta casein milk variants and human health is a matter of concern for scientific investigations. The status ofAl/A2 beta casein variants in Bos taurus cattle breeds from different countries have shown presence of Al variant in European cattle, which has been linked to range of illness. However, no data on beta casein Al/A2 frequency is available on diverse Indian cattle (Bos indicus) breeds. Also no report is available on river buffalo breeds which contribute more than 55% of total milk produced in the country. In this study we report the frequency of beta casein variants among 618 animals of 15 zebu cattle breeds and 231 buffaloes of 8 river buffalo breeds. The beta casein Al/A2 frequency data indicated the predominance of A2 variant (0.987) in zebu cattle breeds while the river buffalo indicated only A2 milk type. The results point towards the origin of A2 variant in Bos indicus cattle. This is the first report of All A2 milk variant from majority of Indian zebu cattle and riverine buffaso breeds.