Variants within the 5'-flanking regions of bovine milk-protein-encoding genes. III. Genes encoding the Ca-sensitive caseins αs1, α s2 and β.

The 5'-flanking regions of the Ca-sensitive casein-encoding gene family were analysed for DNA variants by automated DNA sequencing of 13 cows belonging to seven breeds. About 1 kbp of each 5'-flanking region, including non-coding exon I, was amplified by PCR and sequenced bidirectionally. A total number of 34 variable sites (17 for the α s1, 10 for the α s2, and 7 for the β casein encoding gene) was identified. Variants were computer-analysed for location in putative regulatory sites in order to predict potential influences on gene expression.