Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Horse locomotion traits such as gaitedness, the ability to perform alternate gaits besides the three conventional gaits (walk, trot, and gallop), have been of interest due to their impact on breed-specific characteristics, performance, and utility. A gait type study on Colombian Paso Horses (CPH) identified a quantative trait locus (QTL) at ECA16 (Equus Caballus chromosome 16) associated with the Colombian trot and the Colombian trocha gaits in CPH. The aim of this thesis was to determine if the lead SNP and surrounding haplotypes found at the QTL on ECA16 are relevant for other gaited and non-gaited horse breeds. Genotypes for six SNPs in LD (r2 > 0.6) with the lead SNP across 18 gaited and 40 non-gaited horse breeds were extracted across public genomic databases and by genotyping hair-derived DNA samples. Several SNPs and inferred haplotypes showed significant associations with gaitedness, some more enriched in gaited horse breeds, others more enriched in non-gaited horse breeds. Together, all these findings indicate that this QTL on ECA16 contributes to the variation in gait expression in Colombian Paso Horses and overall gaitedness in horses.