Physiochemical characteristics and fermentation ability of milk from Czech Fleckvieh cows are related to genetic polymorphisms of β-casein, κ-casein and β-lactoglobulin.

Objective: The aim of the study was to find a possible association between the β- and κ-casein and β-lactoglobulin genotypes and important milk physiochemical and technological characteristics such as acidity, alcohol stability, the contents of some minerals and the parameters of acid fermentation ability (FEA) in Czech Fleckvieh Cattle.

Methods: Milk and blood samples were collected from 338 primiparous Czech Fleckvieh cows at the same stage of lactation. The genotypes of individual cows for κ-casein (alleles A, B and E) and β-lactoglobulin (alleles A and B) were ascertained by PCR-RFLP, while their β-casein (alleles A1, A2, A3 and B) genotype was determined using melting curve genotyping analysis. The data collected were 1) milk traits including active acidity (pH), titratable acidity (TA), alcohol stability (AS); calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) contents; and 2) yoghurt traits including active acidity (Y-pH), titratable acidity (Y-TA), and the counts of both Lactobacilli and Streptococci in 1 mL of yoghurt. A linear model was assumed with fixed effects of herd, year, and season of calving, an effect of the age of the cow at first calving and effects of the casein and lactoglobulin genotypes of β-CN (CSN2), κ-CN (CSN3), and β-LG (LGB),or the three-way interaction between those genes.

Results: The genetic polymorphisms were related to the milk TA, AS, content of P and Ca, Y-pH and Lactobacilli number in the fresh yoghurt. The CSN3 genotype was significantly associated with milk AS (p<0.05). The effect of the composite CSN2-CSN3-LGB genotype on the investigated traits mostly reflected the effects of the individual genes. It significantly influenced TA (p<0.01), Y-pH (p<0.05) and the log of the Lactobacilli count (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the yoghurt fermentation test together with MP genotyping could contribute to milk quality control and highlight new perspectives in dairy cattle breeding based on selecting the best animals as parents of the next generation.