Association and Expression Analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Partial Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Gene with Mastitis in Crossbred Cattle

A total of 129 crossbred cows were selected to explore the genotypic and expression profiling of partial TNF-α gene and its association with mastitis susceptibility. Two exon spanning region of TNF-α gene (221 bp and 239 bp) were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The different genotypic analysis by SSCP revealed that 221 bp fragment was monomorphic, whereas 239 bp was polymorphic. Association studies revealed that AA genotypes of 239 bp were more prevalent in mastitis group and the mRNA expression of TNF-α was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in AA genotypic animals compare to AB and BB. This suggested that genotypes AB and BB may be used as candidate markers for mastitis resistance selection in dairy cattle.