Whole-Genome Signatures of Selection in Sport Horses Revealed Selection Footprints Related to Musculoskeletal System Development Processes.
Authors: Salek Ardestani Siavash, Aminafshar Mehdi, Zandi Baghche Maryam Mohammad Bagher, Banabazi Mohammad Hossein, Sargolzaei Mehdi, Miar Younes
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Sport horse breeding has fundamentally reshaped equine genetics over generations, yet the specific genomic targets of this artificial selection remain poorly characterised. Researchers compared whole-genome sequences from 16 sport horses against 35 non-sport horses, applying three complementary statistical methods (fixation index, nucleotide diversity, and Tajima's D analysis) to identify regions showing strong selective signatures across the equine genome. The investigation identified 49 candidate genes bearing clear marks of selection, with functional analysis revealing that breeders have inadvertently—or deliberately—concentrated selection pressure on biological pathways governing musculoskeletal development, limb formation, and tissue morphogenesis. These findings have direct implications for breeding programmes: they highlight which anatomical and physiological traits have been genetically shaped in modern sport horses, potentially helping breeders understand the trade-offs between performance enhancement and inherited predispositions to musculoskeletal disease. For practitioners working with sport horses, recognising these genomic selection footprints offers insight into breed-specific vulnerabilities and the genetic foundations underlying performance capacity and injury susceptibility.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Sport horse breeding has created documented genomic differences in musculoskeletal development genes; understanding these signatures may help predict athletic predisposition and injury susceptibility in individual horses
- •Selection for sport performance has specifically targeted limb and skeletal morphogenesis pathways, which could inform breeding decisions and lameness risk assessment strategies
- •Genomic markers associated with musculoskeletal development could potentially be used as breeding tools to enhance performance traits while managing inherited predispositions to certain conditions
Key Findings
- •Whole-genome analysis of 16 sport and 35 non-sport horses identified 49 shared genes under selective pressure related to sport performance
- •Selective breeding has shaped the sport horse genome to target musculoskeletal system development processes including limb development and morphogenesis
- •Genomic signatures of selection were detected using fixation index, nucleotide diversity, and Tajima's D statistical approaches