11 October 2010

Equinome Speed Gene Test Scientifically-Proven as Strongest Indicator of Optimum Racing Distance

A scientific study published today by researchers at Equinome confirms that the genetic marker used in the Equinome Speed Gene Test to identify the optimum racing distance for individual Thoroughbred horses is the most powerful indicator of its type.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal BMC Genomics, used recently developed technologies to examine the genome-wide relevance of the genetic variant in the myostatin gene (MSTN) that Equinome scientists identified in January of this year as being very strongly associated with race distance aptitude in Thoroughbreds.

This is the world's first published genome-wide association study (GWAS) for a specific athletic trait in any athletic species. The study used the EquineSNP50 Bead Chip genotyping array to examine the complete genome of the Thoroughbred for potential genetic markers associated with optimum racing distance using a cohort of Group race winning horses.

The segment of chromosome 18 encompassing the gene encoding myostatin was identified as the genomic region with the strongest association with best race distance. The statistical power of the most significant marker on the genotyping array, BIEC2-417495, was then compared against the Equinome Speed Gene Test. It was consistently demonstrated that the Equinome Speed Gene Test was the superior genetic marker for the prediction of distance aptitude in racehorses.

Prior to the availability of this technology, Equinome researchers, led by Dr Emmeline Hill, had focused on the myostatin gene, as its role in regulating the development of muscle mass was expected to highly influence potential racing performance. The subsequent identification of the MSTN genetic marker related to best race distance was the world's first known characterisation of a performance-related gene in the Thoroughbred, and the manuscript describing this finding was published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, PLoS ONE.

Dr Emmeline Hill, lead author of the paper and Chairman of Equinome, presented the findings today at the first Pedigree and Genetics Symposium, sponsored by The Blood-Horse magazine in conjunction with Pedigree Consultants, in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr Hill stated that, "Recent developments in genomics technology have now allowed us to evaluate the highly predictive power of the Equinome Speed Gene Test in the context of the entire Thoroughbred genome. The study confirmed that the genetic marker used in our test is approximately fifteen times more powerful in determining optimum racing distance than the next most sensitive marker."

The scientific paper describing the finding is entitled ‘A genome-wide SNP-association study confirms a sequence variant (g.66493737C>T) in the equine myostatin (MSTN) gene as the most powerful predictor of optimum racing distance for Thoroughbred racehorses' and is available to view on the BMC Genomics (http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2164-11-552.pdf) and Equinome (http://www.equinome.com/scientific-publications.html) websites.