Study of kappa-casein gene polymorphism association with milk production and composition in Golestan province camels

This study was aimed to determine the kappa-casein gene polymorphism and its relationship with some milk traits in a population of camels in the Golestan province. Blood samples were collected from100 camel dromedaries in Bandar Turkman, AqQala and Gonbad cities. DNA was extracted using the optimized salt method and then a pair of specific primers was used to produce a 488 bp fragment. Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP method followed by treatment with ALU1 restriction enzyme. To investigate the association of Kappa casein gene polymorphism with milk production and composition (fat, protein, lactose and solids non-fat milk), the GLM procedure of SAS software was used. Three genotype patterns including AA, AB and BB were observed with the frequencies of 0.18, 0.27 and 0.55, respectively. The effect of kappa-casein gene polymorphism on milk production and composition was not significant. Based on current results, the analysis of kappa casein gene polymorphism cannot be used for improving milk yield and composition of camels in Turkman population.