Genetic parameters for α-casein and α-casein phosphorylation isoforms in Dutch Holstein Friesian.

Relative concentrations of α-casein and α-casein (α-CN and α-CN) phosphorylation isoforms vary considerably among milk of individual cows. We estimated heritabilities for α-CN phosphorylation isoforms, determined by capillary zone electrophoresis from 1,857 morning milk samples, and genetic correlations among α-CN phosphorylation isoforms in Dutch Holstein Friesian. To investigate if phosphorylation of α-CN and α-CN are due to the same genetic mechanism, we also estimated genetic correlations between α-CN and α-CN phosphorylation isoforms as well as the genetic correlations between the phosphorylation degrees (PD) of α-CN and α-CN defined as the proportion of isoforms with higher degrees of phosphorylation in total α-CN and α-CN, respectively. The intra-herd heritabilities for the relative concentrations of α-CN phosphorylation isoforms were high and ranged from 0.54 for α-CN-10P to 0.89 for α-CN-12P. Furthermore, the high intra-herd heritabilities of α-CN PD and α-CN PD imply a strong genetic control of the phosphorylation process, which is independent of casein production. The genetic correlations between α-CN phosphorylation isoforms are positive and moderate to high (0.33-0.90). Furthermore, the strong positive genetic correlation (0.94) between α-CN PD and α-CN PD suggests that the phosphorylation processes of α-CN and α-CN are related. This study shows the possibility of breeding for specific α-CN and α-CN phosphorylation isoforms, and relations between the phosphorylation degrees of α-CN and α-CN and technological properties of milk need to be further investigated to identify potential benefits for the dairy industry.