The horse genome bears a striking resemblance to large parts of the human genome. This is evident from the project that was carried out for three years around the world and was managed by the Broad Institute, which is joint with MIT and Harvard
An international team of researchers encoded the genome of the domesticated horse (equus caballus), and revealed a genome structure with an impressive similarity to the human genome, as well as about a million genetic differences within the horse species. In addition to illuminating the mammalian branch of the evolutionary tree, the project also reveals a critical starting point for gene mapping of equine diseases.
Horses and humans suffer from similar diseases, and therefore identifying culprit genes in horses guarantees a deepening of our knowledge about diseases in both creatures - humans and horses" says Kerstin Lindbalt-Tove, the project's lead researcher and scientific director of genome biology at Uppsala University in Sweden. "Sequencing the horse genome is an important factor towards this goal." said.
For centuries horses have been the closest companions to man. The horse was domesticated 4,000-6,00 years ago and was initially used as a means of power (for field work and pumping water) and for transportation. Over time, as the machines became the main source of work in agriculture and industry, the relationship with the horses was converted mainly to sports and leisure activities.
Even before this cooperation, horses and humans shared an evolutionary history that affected the health of both species. Like other mammals, the two species share most of their DNA. Moreover, horses suffer from over 90% of the same hereditary diseases that humans suffer from. The need to understand this connection caused the Broad Institute, a joint institute of MIT and Harvard, to start the project about three years ago with the aim of deciphering the genetic code of horses. The effort is based on a ten-year collaboration of groups of scientists from all over the world in deciphering genes.
To create a high-quality genome sequence, the researchers analyzed DNA samples from an adult thoroughbred mare named "Twilight". The genome contains about 2.7 billion letters, slightly larger than the dog genome and smaller than the human genome and the cow genome.
An impressive feature of the horse genome is the small number of chromosome rearrangements relative to the frequency of this phenomenon in the human genome. During evolution, parts of the chromosomes may mix and move to other places in the genome, but stay together like beads on a string, a situation known as synteny. Over half of horse chromosomes show compatibility with identical chromosomes in humans. This is in contrast to dogs where the figure indicates less than a third. Another interesting discovery that emerges from the decoding of the horse genome is the structural relationship between the chromosomes and the centromeres.
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I don't feel like a horse...
Just an addition.. The horse was also used for war, and a lot.
For example, the horse population in Europe was almost extinct in WW1, which further opened up the opportunity for motorized vehicles.