GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX CLASS-I ANTIGENS, SERUM TRANSFERRINS AND RED-BLOOD-CELL ANTIGENS IN NORWEGIAN BREEDS OF CATTLE

BoLA class I antigens, serum transferrins (Tf) and red blood cell (rbc ) antigens were determined in five rare local Norwegian cattle breeds as well as in the main cattle population, Norwegian Cattle (NRF). High ly significant breed differences were found for all these marker syste ms, except for the Z blood group system, and some of the linked loci w ithin the C-system. The estimated allele frequencies were used to calc ulate genetic identity coefficients and to construct a dendrogram. The mean identity coefficient was 0.328 for BoLA, 0.923 for Tf, and range d from 0.561 to 0.997 (mean 0.909) for the rbc systems. The low identi ty coefficients for BoLA, compared with those of Tf and rbc, may indic ate that genetic forces may have had a different impact on BoLA than o n the other systems under study.