A single nucleotide polymorphism and sequence analysis of α-lactalbumin gene (LAA) in Chinese Bos grunniens (yak)

A polymorphism of α-lactalbumin gene LAA exon I, II, III, and IV has been identified by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism protocol to reveal the distribution of diversity of α-lactalbumin in Maiwa yak at the molecular level. The sequences corresponding to the coding region of α-lactalbumin gene were used for phylogenetic analysis to establish the phylogenetic relationship of LAA variants in the Bos genus. Experimental results indicated that most yak milks were with hybrid genotype in exon I of α-lactalbumin. A new variant had been identified in Maiwa yak breed by resquencing analysis and entered into GenBank with accession number JN084189. The phylogenetic analysis presented α-lactalbumin evolution consistent with species at a degree.