纯种马的主人如今有了一个新的工具，从而能够预测他们的赛马在跑道上的表现。上周五，在基尔代尔郡举行的爱尔兰纯种马饲养者协会博览会上，一家名为Equinome的新公司启动了一项要价1000欧元的脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)测试——旨在对源自马基因组计划的一种肌肉因子进行鉴定。
肌肉的生长受到肌肉生长抑制素的调控，后者是一种蛋白质，能够决定动物是生长适合快速奔跑的强健肌肉，还是长出具有出色耐力的消瘦体态。Equinome公司的共同创始人、都柏林大学学院的遗传学家Emmeline Hill和同事于1月份在《科学公共图书馆—综合》上报告说，携带了肌肉生长抑制素C突变的两个基因拷贝的马匹更有可能在长度为6.5弗隆(约合1.3公里)的短跑中获胜，而携带了两个T突变的马匹则在长度为13.5弗隆的比赛中表现更佳。
马基因组计划协调人、美国莱克星顿市肯塔基大学的Ernest Bailey强调，马主已经采用基因测试来鉴定马匹的父子关系、毛皮色泽以及疾病，然而性能预测则还是一块新的领地。Hill指出，饲养者曾为了了解马匹的脾气而咨询过基因的问题。她说，这在目前还难以实现，但是“我们正在研究基因与其他特征之间的关系，例如有氧代谢能力”。（生物谷Bioon.com）
Science：马基因组测序发现新染色体着丝点
生物谷推荐原始出处：
PLoS ONE 5(1): e8645. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008645
A Sequence Polymorphism in MSTN Predicts Sprinting Ability and Racing Stamina in Thoroughbred Horses
Emmeline W. Hill1*, Jingjing Gu1, Suzanne S. Eivers1, Rita G. Fonseca1, Beatrice A. McGivney1, Preethi Govindarajan1, Nick Orr1¤, Lisa M. Katz1, David MacHugh1,2
1 Animal Genomics Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 2 Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Variants of the MSTN gene encoding myostatin are associated with muscle hypertrophy phenotypes in a range of mammalian species, most notably cattle, dogs, mice, and humans. Using a sample of registered Thoroughbred horses (n = 148), we have identified a novel MSTN sequence polymorphism that is strongly associated (g.66493737C>T, P = 4.85×10?8) with best race distance among elite racehorses (n = 79). This observation was independently validated (P = 1.91×10?6) in a resampled group of Thoroughbreds (n = 62) and in a cohort of Thoroughbreds (n = 37, P = 0.0047) produced by the same trainer. We observed that C/C horses are suited to fast, short-distance races; C/T horses compete favorably in middle-distance races; and T/T horses have greater stamina. Evaluation of retrospective racecourse performance (n = 142) and stallion progeny performance predict that C/C and C/T horses are more likely to be successful two-year-old racehorses than T/T animals. Here we describe for the first time the identification of a gene variant in Thoroughbred racehorses that is predictive of genetic potential for an athletic phenotype.
