Single gene has major impact on gaits in horses and in mice

Researchers at Uppsala University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and their international collaborators have discovered a mutation in a single gene in horses that is critical for the ability to perform ambling gaits, for pacing and that has a major effect on performance in harness racing. Experiments on this gene in mice have led to fundamental new knowledge about the neural circuits that control leg movements. The study is a breakthrough for our understanding of spinal cord neuronal circuitry and its control of locomotion in vertebrates. The study is being published today in Nature.

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