VARIANTS WITHIN THE 5'-FLANKING REGIONS OF BOVINE MILK-PROTEIN-ENCODING GENES .3. GENES ENCODING THE CA-SENSITIVE CASEIN-ALPHA(S1), CASEIN-ALPHA(S2) AND CASEIN-BETA

The 5'-flanking regions of the Ca-sensitive casein-encoding gene famil y were analysed for DNA variants by automated DNA sequencing of 13 cow s belonging to seven breeds. About I kbp of each 5'-flanking region, i ncluding non-coding exon I, was amplified by PCR and sequenced bidirec tionally. A total number of 34 variable sites (17 for the alpha(s1), 1 0 for the alpha(s2), and 7 for the beta casein encoding gene) was iden tified. Variants were computer-analysed for location in putative regul atory sites in order to predict potential influences on gene expressio n.