Screening Methods for Genetic Variants of Milk Proteins

Abstract

Genetic variants of milk proteins are interesting because: 1) There are correlations between the genetic variants and protein content, protein composition, fat content, functional properties (e.g., cheese making ability, heat stability), and the fitness of the cow; and, 2) breeding for yield of milk, fat and protein may have altered gene frequencies; studying breeds which have barely undergone selection, or breeds with a small population, is therefore very important. Furthermore, electrophoretic methods provide fast and reliable phenotyping of great numbers of milk samples because of the high resolution obtained, especially by isoelectric focusing.