Serum Transferrins of Norwegian Red Cattle

Starch gel electrophoresis has been used for studies on serum transferrin (Tf) polymorphism in Norwegian Red Cattle (NRF). A total of 13 different Tf phenotypes were observed. Three of them were heterozygous for the very rare allele, Tf^N, which so far has not been found in any other cattle breed. The 4 protein zones controlled by Tf^N are slightly slower in rate of migration than the corresponding ones governed by Tf^F. The 10 other phenotypes are controlled by the alleles Tf^A, \({\text{T}}{{\text{f}}^{{\text{D1}}}},\,{\text{T}}{{\text{f}}^{{{\text{D}}_{\text{2}}}}}\) and Tf^E. In a material comprising 535 cattle these alleles occurred at frequencies 0.35, 0.16, 0.22 and 0.27 respectively.