A single-nucleotide mutation within the TBX3 enhancer increased body size in Chinese horses.

ABSTRACT: Chinese ponies are endemic to the mountainous areas of southwestern China and were first reported in the archaeological record at the Royal Tomb of Zhongshan King, Mancheng, dated to approximately ∼2,100 YBP.¹ Previous work has started uncovering the genetic basis of size variation in western ponies and horses, revealing a limited number of loci, including HMGA2,²LCORL/NCAPG,³ZFAT, and LASP1.^4,5 Whether the same genetic pathways also drive the small body size of Chinese ponies, which show striking anatomical differences to Shetland ponies,⁶ remains unclear.^2,7 To test this, we combined whole-genome sequences of 187 horses across China. Statistical analyses revealed top association

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8796118 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature