Genotyping of the Holstein-Friesian crossbred cattle for gene using PCR-RFLP CD18

Bovine Leucocyte Adhesion Deficiency (BLAD) is a Holstein-Friesian HF) specific autosomal recessively inherited disorder characterized by recurrent pneumonia, ulcerative and granulomatous stomatitis, enteritis, periodontitis, loss of teeth, delayed wound healing, persistent neutrophilia and death at an early age [1]. BLAD is a disease characterized by a reduced expression of the adhesion molecules on neutrophils, called ß integrins (a complex of the family of proteins that are structurally and functionally related to glycoproteins). The disease is caused by a mutation, which replaces adenine at nucleotide position 383 with guanine, resulting in an amino acid change (aspartic acid to glycine; ). The mutation ultimately leads to a protein with impaired function. The carrier frequency of BLAD among US Holstein cattle was found to be 15% among breeding bulls and 8% among cows [2]. Use of breeding HF bulls imported from the USA in many countries lead to a high incidence of BLAD carriers in their native/crossbred cattle population including India [3-8]. The present study was therefore undertaken to describe the BLAD carrier prevalence, the geographical distribution and the related gene frequency among the HF crossbred cattle of Maharashtra state of India. The experimental design and plan of the present study was duly approved by the Institution Animal Ethics Committee of Bombay Veterinary College, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra.