The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the creation of world's first 'framework linkage map of domestic buffalo genome' so as to identify the high milk yielding genes.

Announcing this at a press conference, CCMB Director Dr Lalji Singh said the institute had agreed to take up the three-year project with financial support from NDDB. The project would cost Rs 4.30 crore, of which Rs 2.30 crore had been earmarked for the first two phases. Depending on the success, the third phase would be undertaken. NDDB would provide meticulous breed of buffaloes to carry out the experiment.

The project aims at identifying 500 micro-satellite DNA markers suitable for the construction of a framework linkage map of buffalo genome and establishing a DNA bank from a genome mapping panel of buffaloes. This will go a long way in identifying economically important traits in bovine

CCMB had done a lot of groundwork in cattle genome and a good number of DNA markers had already been developed. With the pedigree provided by NDDB, it would take up mapping, Dr Singh said

About 1,000 micro-satellite markers from those already mapped, covering the whole cattle genome, would be selected in the first instance. These cattle micro-satellite primers would be tested on genomic DNA from 25 buffaloes selected from experimental herd for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification. The PCR primer pairs giving polymorphic band patterns would be included for genotyping the mapping panels and through this method, at least 500 primer pairs corresponding to 500 polymorphic micro-satellite loci in buffaloes would be selected, Dr Lalji Singh said.

Dr Satish Kumar, the project-in-charge, in his presentation, said buffaloes were chosen as they were the mainstay of the dairy industry in the country providing 45 million tonnes of milk a year and was a major source of rural employment. India with several breeds happens to be the world leader in buffalo production and contributed almost 64 per cent of the world buffalo milk.

The research done so far at the CCMB had shown that Indian cattle breeds like Toda, Bhandawadi and Jafrawadi were unique in several aspects and further research might yield more information. The mapping of buffalo genome would help genetic improvement of buffaloes in a speedy and effective way, Dr Satish Kumar said.

CCMB and NDDB would jointly own any intellectual property generated in the project in mutually agreed proportion. Although NDDB has wide access to bulls, buffaloes and their diverse outputs, it has turned to CCMB to find superior gene traits and thinks its money well spent.