GENETIC POLYMORPHISM OF THE ?s1-CASEIN IN GOATS FROM THE SEMI-ARID OF BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST

Abstract

The population of native and mixed-breeds (MB) goats from the Northeast of Brazil is little characterized, despite the importance given to studies of genetic resources in domestic animals. With the objective of studying the polymorphism of the αS1-casein gene in genomic DNA of Moxotó and mixed-breed goats from the semi-arid of Brazilian Northeast, by the PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Lenght Polymorfism) technique, 215 Moxotó and mixed-breeed goats, which came from the Brazilian states of Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, were used. Based on the allelic frequency from the breeds studied, there was no significant difference (p> 0.05) among the populations of each studied state and between Moxotó and mixed-breed animals. In face of the detection of a highest presence of allele B (strong) from the αS1-casein gene in the animals studied, it is admitted the possibility that, phenotypically, these animals present the characteristic of a strong production of proteins, an important feature for the milk destined to cheese production, favoring the goat raising in the region.

KEYWORDS: DNA, milk, PCR-RFLP.