RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPHISM (RFLP) OF EXON-2 OF THE MHCBIBI-DRB3 GENE IN AMERICAN BISON (BISON-BISON)

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers specific to exon 2 of the bovi ne lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3 gene were successfully used to ampli fy the equivalent region in 469 American bison (Bison bison). In domes tic cattle, alleles of DRB3 are assigned through a restriction fragmen t length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the patterns of fragment leng ths observed after digestion with the restriction enzymes RsaI, BstYI and HaeIII. In bison, using the same procedure, the observed RFLP patt erns provided evidence for the strong conservation of restriction site s previously reported in cattle.