Gene Mutation: No Performance Effect in Coldblooded Trotters

The “Gaitkeeper” gene mutation has been linked to success in trotting races in Standardbreds.
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Gene Mutation: No Performance Effect in Coldblooded Trotters
The coldblooded trotter is truly a heavy horse. It’s one of two remaining breeds descending from the historic North-Swedish horse. | Photo: Courtesy Robert Fegraeus
The “Gaitkeeper” gene mutation might make a Standardbred more likely to win a trot race. But new study results have revealed that it doesn’t have the same effect on coldblooded trotters.

And that’s good news for an industry in which only 12% of the horses carry both copies of the DMRT3 (Gaitkeeper) gene, said Kim Jäderkvist Fegraeus, PhD, of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, in Uppsala.

Most successful Standardbred racehorses are homozygous, or “AA”—meaning they received a copy of the Gaitkeeper gene from both parents, compared to the heterozygous “CA” (only one copy) or “CC” (no copies), Fegraeus said. Coldblooded trotters, however, comprise a minority representation of AA horses.

Coldblooded AA horses in their study did appear to be faster in their early careers, while CC horses had a harder time keeping a clean trot, she said. But the AA horses had fewer starts and raced less frequently than CC and CA horses

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Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

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