Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Reich CM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2391186 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Reich Coralie M CM Arnould John P Y JP
Biology letters 20071001 5
Despite the considerable variation in milk composition found among mammals, a constituent common across all groups is lactose, the main sugar and osmole in most eutherians milk. Exceptions to this are the families Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions) and Odobenidae (walruses), where lactose has not been detected. We investigated the molecular basis for this by cloning alpha-lactalbumin, the modifier protein of the lactose synthase complex. A mutation was observed which, in addition to preventing ...[more]