Testing Elsie and LuLu for A2A2 Genetics

Today we took tail hair samples from both our little heifers to send off and test for A2A2 genetics.  Here is little Elsie all haltered up and ready.

And here is LuLu.  It is not that uncomfortable of a thing.  My goal is to pull approximately 20 tail hairs out of the tail head with the root attached.

I'll try to simply explain what we're testing for and why.  Clarabelle (Elsie's mom) is A2A2.  That's what we want.  I'll tell you why in a second.  Rosie (LuLu's mom) is A1A2.  We never tested the bulls, so we don't know what we'll get.  Since Clarabelle is A2A2, if we knew that the bull was A2A2, there would be no need to test.

There are different proteins in milk and the proportion of various proteins varies depending on the breed.  Casein, particularly beta casein, is found in milk.  In Jersey cows (A2 cows), (ours are Jerseys) the beta casein has an amino acid called proline.  In newer breeds like Holstein (A1 cows) the proline mutated into an amino acid called histadine.  Beta casein has an amino acid called BCM-7 that is linked to negative health affects.  The proline that exists in A2 cows has a strong bond to BCM-7, which helps keep it out of the cows’ milk.  The histidine in the newer A1 cows, however, has a weak hold on BCM-7, which allows it to get into the milk, and also into the people who drink the milk.  By drinking milk from A2A2 cows you are not exposed to negative things.  Granted, people with a healthy gut are not really subject to them anyway, but people seek out A2A2 milk for that benefit (Source: http://www.a2a2milk.com/page-2/)

So we're testing to see what Elsie and LuLu are - A2A2 or A1A2.  I grab the tail and pull out tail hairs by the root four or five at a time until I have 20 of them.

We twist them and tape to the Genetics testing form that we requested for each animal.

And now we'll mail it off and wait for the results.  We'll post the results when we get them.

Clarabelle's Genetics Test Results are in

In this post from last week, we talked about how we had taken hair samples from Clarabelle and had them sent off for her to be tested to determine if she had A2/A2 genetics.  You can read about what A2 milk is and what benefits drinking it provides in that post or in other other articles such as THIS.

About 65% of the milk from Jersey cattle is A2.  We have been trying to breed our cows with the goal being to produce offspring that are A2/A2. Of course milk from an A1/A2 cow is better than milk from an A1/A1 cow, and we feel that drinking raw milk is the best option for our family regardless of the genetics, but we really are shooting for an A2/A2 replacement heifer.  Is Clarabelle going to be the one?

The Genetic Lottery

Each day since we mailed off the hair samples, I've been asking Tricia if the test results had come back in.  Each day the answer was, "Negative, no results yet."  So on Friday we received an email back notifying us of the test results.

The concise and to the point email was kind of anti-climactic after all the build-up and suspense, but the results did make us happy.  Clarabelle is A2/A2 and that means that she is a keeper.  Our little pasture doesn't have any more carrying capacity for additional stock, but we'll find a way to keep an A2/A2 heifer and she'll, in turn, be good breeding stock to hopefully provide us with more calves with A2 genetic dominance.

Testing Clarabelle's Genetics

Clarabelle just turned 2/1/2 months old and she is growing nicely fueled by Rosie's milk.  There is a long list of things to be done with a young calf.  As shown HERE, we dehorned her.  As shown HERE, we began the process of breaking her so that she'll lead.  We sent off the paperwork and had her registered with the American Jersey Cattle Association.  At four months of age, well have her vaccinated against brucellosis.   In between all that we've treated her feet for footrot and given her two penicillin shots to control an infection in her head caused by her knocking the scab off from de-horning.  There's lots to do, I tell ya!

Today, we'll show you how we recently collected tail hair samples from her to send off to determine if she has A2/A2 genetics.  One of the things we're aiming for is to get our little herd to all A2/A2 genetics.  Daisy is A2/A2, Rosie is A1/A2 and Amy is A1/A2.  Clarabelle's dad was A2/A2, so there is a chance that Clarabelle will be A2/A2.  Do you remember Punnett Squares from biology class dealing with dominant and recessive genes?

So what are A1 and A2 genetics?  Well, milk is made up of mostly liquids and some solids.  Of the solids, there is a protein called beta-casein and there are several variants of this protein - A1 and A2. A1 is thought to be a mutation that occurred a long time ago.  This article, in the Health Effects section, discusses some studies done that showed that some of the peptides created during digestion of A1 beta casein proteins may cause negative effects in humans.  As a result, there is a growing market for A2/A2 dairy cows.

In order to determine the genetic makeup of you must send in a hair sample.  Who likes having their hair pulled out?  Certainly not Clarabelle, so we tied her up.

A Captive Calf

It is important that the switch of the tail where the sample is to be gathered must be clean and free from dirt or debris.  A dirty tail hair sample renders it unfit for DNA testing.  Tricia brushed off Clarabelle's tail.

Cleaning up the little girl's tail

Now it was time to take the sample, so I grabbed her tail.  She didn't like that much.

The sample must comprise about 20 hairs, and here's the tough thing: The roots of the hair must be attached.  Some of my samples from her tail had no roots attached, so I had to pull a lot more than 20. Although it takes longer, I figured out that you get a better quality sample by just pulling one or two at a time.  

Pulling a sample.  OUCH!

Once you get a good sample of tail hairs with the roots attached, you twist it a little and tape it on the form that you request from GeneSeek.  Information can be found AT THIS WEBSITE.

We just sent this off to the lab in Lincoln, Nebraska and look forward to the results. A2/A2 is what we're looking for.  We'll just have to wait and see...