Genetic disorders of horses : a critical review

Abstract

There are more than 5000 genetic diseases of humans and from 1990 to 2003, the Human Genome Project changed the world of genetics forever by mapping the human genome. The Horse Genome Project, a result of the Human Genome Project, was born in 1995 when 70 scientists from 20 countries met to make a plan for doing the same thing with the horse’s genome. During the course of the project, the genetic basis for several inherited diseases as well as simple genetic traits in horses were discovered, and molecular genetic tests could be developed. In January 2007 the work of sequencing and mapping the horse genome was completed. Researchers are now able to develop genetic tests with drastically decreased costs, time and samples needed, and a new frontier in equine genetics has been opened. The United States of America has for many years been in the lead of scientific research. The American Quarter Horse Association in particular are using vast sums of money in the research field of the breed, and for this reason much more is known about the genetic diseases in these horses. In addition, the Quarter horse is the most popular breed in the USA and the population is one of the largest in the world. The Arabian Horse Association has nonetheless established its own task force to focus on genetic diseases, and so we can only hope that this is the beginning of a new tendency for an increasing interest in genetic diseases.