Polymorphism of milk protein genes in coding and regulatory regions and their effects on gene expression and milk performance traits

摘要

Protein yield and content of milk are high-priority criterions in the breeding value evaluation and selection programmes in dairy cattle. Apart from steady progress in elevating the value of these traits by quantitative genetics (animal model), relatively high intra-breed variation has still been observed. The explantation for the grounds of such variation was the subject of cattle molecular genetics triggered by the discovery of the polymorphism of genes encoding milk poteins: firstly (beta-lactoglobulin (LGB) -Aschaffenburg and Drewry, [1955], and subsequently alphaS1-casein (CSN1S1), alphaS2-casein (CSN1S2), (beta-casein (CSN2), K-casein (CSN3), and alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA) -Eigel et al. [1984].