Identification of novel allelic patterns and evolutionary lineage of BoLA MHC class II locus in indicine and taurine cattle.

Among different cattle types, are known for their ability to better resist the tropical microbial infections comparatively, wherein MHC molecules play a significant role. In this study allelic diversity at MHC locus, of and crossbred of taurine-indicus has been explored to understand the possible role of MHC region in differential immune response. Thirty nine different alleles were identified, out of which 14 were novel, along with documentation of duplication of alleles. Indicus cattle population presented diverse types of alleles compared to crossbred and exotic. Translated amino acid sequence analysis indicated, codon 64 and 50 of peptide binding sites being highly polymorphic and most of the indicus cattle presented alanine and arginine amino acid at position 64 and 50. Within breed genetic variation found to be higher than between breeds. Because of their ability to bind and subsequently respond to a wide array of antigens, the newly identified alleles with high diversity present in the form of duplicated haplotypes in different combinations in cattle populations provided significant insights into probable role of this MHC locus in better tropical disease combating ability and genetic fitness of indicus cattle.