Effects of breed and casein genetic variants on protein profile in milk from Swedish Red, Danish Holstein, and Danish Jersey cows

In selecting cows for higher milk yields and milk quality, it is important to understand how these traits are affected by the bovine genome. The major milk proteins exhibit genetic polymorphism and these genetic variants can serve as markers for milk composition, milk production traits, and technological properties of milk. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between casein (CN) genetic variants and detailed protein composition in Swedish and Danish dairy milk. Milk and DNA samples were collected from approximately 400 individual cows each of 3 Scandinavian dairy breeds: Swedish Red (SR), Danish Holstein (DH), and Danish Jersey (DJ). The protein profile with relative concentrations of α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, and αS1-, αS2-, κ-, and β-CN was determined for each milk sample using capillary zone electrophoresis. The genetic variants of the αS1- (CSN1S1), β- (CSN2), and κ-CN (CSN3) genes for each cow were determined using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Univariate statistical models were used to evaluate the effects of composite genetic variants, αS1-β-κ-CN, on the protein profile. The 3 studied Scandinavian breeds differed from each other regarding CN genotypes, with DH and SR having similar genotype frequencies, whereas the genotype frequencies in DJ differed from the other 2 breeds. The similarities in genotype frequencies of SR and DH and differences compared with DJ were also seen in milk production traits, gross milk composition, and protein profile. Frequencies of the most common composite αS1-β-κ-CN genotype BB/A2A2/AA were 30% in DH and 15% in SR, and cows that had this genotype gave milk with lower relative concentrations of κ- and β-CN and higher relative concentrations of αS-CN, than the majority of the other composite genotypes in SR and DH. The effect of composite genotypes on relative concentrations of the milk proteins was not as pronounced in DJ. The present work suggests that a higher frequency of BB/A1A2/AB, together with a decrease in BB/A2A2/AA, could have positive effects on DH and SR milk regarding, for example, the processing of cheese.