Abstract

Pasture bloat costs New Zealand`s dairy industry at least $25M annually. We have previously shown that a salivary protein is increased in abundance in saliva from cattle that have been selected for low susceptibility to bloat compared with those selected for high susceptibility. We have now obtained the cDNA sequence for two closely related forms of this protein, which we term bSP30a and bSP30b. These share 83% sequence identity at the amino acid level, but at best only 28-30% homology with salivary proteins from other species. Analysis of genomic DNA by PCR suggests that the two forms of bSP30 are coded on two separate genes. However, the function of bSP30 and how it might influence susceptibility to bloat remains as yet unknown.

TT, Wheeler, BJ Haigh, RJ Wilkins, JY McCracken, and CA Morris

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 58, , 10-12, 1998