Restriction fragment length polymorphism of ovine casein genes: close linkage between the alpha s1-, alpha s2-, beta- and kappa-casein loci.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of ovine casein genes was investigated. Genomic DNA from 56 rams was digested with 10 restriction endonucleases and Southern blots probed with the four ovine casein cDNAs (alpha s1-, beta-, alpha s2- and kappa-Cn). Five enzymes, namely, BglI, PvuII, RsaI, TaqI and HindIII revealed nine different RFLPs. The inheritance of six of these polymorphisms was studied by segregation analysis of gametes in nine rams' families, and each of them could be related to the existence of alleles at the relevant casein locus. A close linkage between the four ovine casein genes was demonstrated since no recombination within the four pairs of loci examined, alpha s1-beta-Cn, alpha s1-kappa-Cn, beta-kappa-Cn and alpha s2-kappa-Cn, was observed in the progeny of double heterozygous rams. The casein genes are thus clustered in the ovine species as in the case of other mammals.