EcoRI Polymorphism in Intron 6 of the Bovine Lactoferrin Gene in South Anatolian Red and East Anatolian Red Cattle Breeds

Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein that exists in variety of biological fluids such as milk, tear, saliva, bile, mucous secretions and blood. Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland. LF has a vital role in the defense mechanism of the mammary gland and the bovine LF gene is a potential candidate gene for imparting resistance to mastitis in dairy cows. The objective of the study is to determine the genotype and allele frequencies for bovine lactoferrin gene polymorphisms in South Anatolian Red (SAR) and East Anatolian Red (EAR) cattle. DNA samples of 46 SAR and 46 EAR cattle were selected from DNA collection obtained from previous research projects. Bovine LF gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR products were digested by EcoRI restriction enzyme. The frequency of A allele was found higher than B allele in EAR cattle breed and the frequency of B allele was found higher than A allele in SAR cattle breed. We suggest that further studies should be conducted on the bovine LF gene in Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle to understand the reason of high genotype frequency in SAR and EAR cattle breeds.