title: Characterization of casein and alpha lactalbumin of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) milk.
abstract: The current research reports partial characterization of the caseins and α-lactalbumin (α-LA) of the African elephant with proposed unique structure-function properties. Extensive research has been carried out to understand the structure of the casein micelles. Crystallographic structure elucidation of caseins and casein micelles is not possible. Consequently, several models have been developed in an effort to describe the casein micelle, specifically of cow milk. Here we report the characterization of African elephant milk caseins. The κ-caseins and β-caseins were investigated, and their relative ratio was found to be approximately 1:8.5, whereas α-caseins were not detected. The gene sequence of β-casein in the NCBI database was revisited, and a different sequence in the N-terminal region is proposed. Amino acid sequence alignment and hydropathy plots showed that the κ-casein of African elephant milk is similar to that of other mammals, whereas the β-casein is similar to the human protein, and displayed a section of unique AA composition and additional hydrophilic regions compared with bovine caseins. Elephant milk is destabilized by 62% alcohol, and it is speculated that the β-casein characteristics may allow maintenance of the colloidal nature of the casein micelle, a role that was previously only associated with κ-casein. The oligosaccharide content of milk was reported to be low in dairy animals but high in some other species such as humans and elephants. In the milk of the African elephant, lactose and oligosaccharides both occur at high levels. These levels are typically related to the content of α-LA in the mammary gland and thus point to a specialized carbohydrate synthesis, where the whey protein α-LA plays a role. We report the characterization of African elephant α-LA. Homology modeling of the α-LA showed that it is structurally similar to crystal structures of other mammalian species, which in turn may be an indication that its functional properties, such as lactose synthesis, should not be impaired.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Madende
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa. Electronic address: osthoffg@ufs.ac.za.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Osthoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: H-G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Patterton
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Patterton
authors.affiliation: UMR1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Integrative, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine de Vilvert - Bâtiment 221, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Opperman
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002364:Caseins / Q000032:analysis*; D004606:Elephants; D005260:Female; D007768:Lactalbumin / Q000032:analysis*; D008823:Micelles; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D000067816:Whey Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D008823:Micelles; D000067816:Whey Proteins; D007768:Lactalbumin
keywords: African elephant; casein; milk; protein structure; α-lactalbumin