Why in news
Researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala reported discovering a DNA sequence in horses that underlies superior racing performance.
The sequence influenced levels of two proteins involved in regulating blood pressure
These results are key to understanding the biological mechanisms behind blood pressure regulation in both human and horse elite athletic performance
Number of Chromosomes in Horse
Horses have 32 chromosomes.
Each horse cell, like each human cell, contains two sets of the genome distributed in 64 chromosomes.
One set is inherited from the father’s sperm, and the other from the mother’s egg.
Haplotypes in Genes
Haplotypes are alternative versions of a DNA sequence that differ in a few base-pairs.
They are used to identify variations in genetic sequences.
The ‘élite’ and the ‘sub-élite’ haplotypes were respectively called EPH and SPH.
Functions of Endothelin1 and Endothelin3
Endothelin1 (EDN1): A protein involved in increasing blood pressure.
Endothelin3 (EDN3): A protein involved in decreasing blood pressure.
Effects of Haplotypes
The EPH haplotype decreases EDN1 levels and increases EDN3 levels, which affects blood pressure regulation.
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