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1. Two nucleoside phosphorylase (NP) phenotypes were detected in 844 animals from four distinct genetic groups of Bos taurus and Bos indicus derivation. 2. Bos indicus breeds like Guzerat (Kankrej), Gir, Nellore (Ongole) and Indubrazil presented an NP-H frequency of 1.00, 0.928, 0.776 and 0.754 respectively, while the Canchim breed, a Bos taurus-Bos indicus crossbred cattle (5/8 Charolais-3/8 Zebu) presented a frequency of 0.372. 3. The high frequency detected from the NP-H allele in the Bos indicus breeds strongly suggests that this enzyme is a genetic marker for cattle and that it probably has a very high frequency in all Indian breeds.