Guzerat indicine cattle and A2 milk production

Abstract

Cow milk might be associated to gastrointestinal disorders and abdominal pain in some people, which are, in part, due to the digestion of A1 beta-casein. Within this context, A2 milk has emerged as an alternative since it only contains A2 beta-casein that does not cause these complications. This milk is produced by cows with the A2A2 genotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies for the beta-casein gene in Guzerat cattle and to evaluate the feasibility of selection and production of A2 milk. The genotypes of 283 Guzerat cows from 10 herds were analyzed. The frequency of the A2A2 genotype was 0.80 and the frequency of the A2 allele was 0.90. These frequencies are slightly lower than those reported in previous studies involving populations of the same breed, but the number of animals, herein, genotyped was higher. Thus, the estimates are believed to be better and are also equally high. The Guzerat cattle has the potential for A2 milk production since most animals of the herd carry the favorable genotype for A2 milk production. Furthermore, the frequency of the A2A2 genotype can be rapidly increased by marker-assisted selection without compromising genetic variability.

Keywords:

• SNP
• Bos taurus indicus
• molecular marker
• genetic polymorphisms
• SNPs

Acknowledgements

We thank the producers who kindly provided the genotypes of their animals for the study: Eduardo Almeida (Guzerá FRUT, Itanagra-BA), Fernando Augusto Trindade (Guzerá JM, Mundo Novo-BA), Sérgio Teixeira (Guzerá SATP, Ipiaú-BA) e Marcelo e Davi Teixeira (Guzerá Vi, Itagibá-BA), José Bezerra (Guzerá JBN, Garanhus-PE), Sérgio Villas Bôas (Guzerá MT, Jaguaquara-BA), Carlos Costa (Guzerá Juventude, Cachoeira-BA), João Campos (Guzerá JTFC, Santanópolis-BA), Igor Arbas Rodrigues (Guzerá Porto Firme, Belo Horizonte-MG) e Richard Wagner Andrich de Freitas Santos (Guzerá Datas, Datas-MG), the ‘Núcleo Kankrej’ (‘Sociedade Nordestina do Guzerá Arcaico’) for establishing the contacts with the producers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank ‘Pró-Reitoria de Extensão’ of the ‘Universidade Federal da Federal Bahia’ [PaexDoc 2019, grant 13173] for financial support.