Non-Fiction RRE EXTRA CREDIT

The article “The Equine 'Adam' Lived Fairly Recently: Close Relationships among Modern Stallions”, discusses the new genetic revelations found from analyzing horse DNA.  Scientists in Vienna have sequenced and analyzed the Y chromosomes of horses.  In horses, just as in humans, Y chromosomes are passed from father to son.  On the other hand, the mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to child.  So by analyzing mitochondrial DNA one can find the maternal line, while by analyzing the Y chromosomal DNA, one can find the paternal line.  Researchers have already analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of horses to figure out the lineage of domestic horses.  They found a lot of variation in the genetic sequences.  However after analyzing the Y chromosome, they found only six haplotypes.  Haplotypes are a group of genes that are inherited together from a single parent.  Since horse owners are very particular about their breeding, it may be that single stallion was used to impregnate multiple female horses.

            This article is interesting because it shows how a lineage can be traced.  There are ways to trace both maternal and paternal lineage.  It is obviously made simpler by advance in sequencing technology.  Selective breeding is also a beneficial strategy.  However I worry in the future it will be used to the extreme, which is never a good thing.

Work Cited

1.   
"The Equine 'Adam' Lived Fairly Recently: Close Relationships Among Modern Stallions."ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130404072920.htm>.