Polymorphism of the kappa-casein gene in two Bosnian autochthonous cattle breeds

Abstract

Busa is an old endangered autochthonous breed of the western Balkan, especially Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania. A related breed is Gatacko, derived from Busa x Tirolean Grey crossbreds. Fifteen purebred Busa cattle and thirteen Gatacko animals were genotyped for polymorphisms at the kappa-casein gene by a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) essay. The alleles A, B and C were found and the allelic frequencies were 0.46 (A), 0.46 (B) and 0.08 (C) in Busa cattle and 0.58 (A) and 0.42 (B) in Gatacko. Only AA, AB, BB and BC genotypes occurred. Further alleles were not detected and are therefore either absent in both populations or rare. The allele "B" found in this small population will be useful for a sire selection program in the future.