Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2013 10:44:18 GMT
Genes from father build placenta
And some snippets from the article -
Genes work in pairs: one from each parent. But about one percent of mammalian genes choose sides, a phenomenon called genomic imprinting. Imprinted genes use molecules that bind to DNA (epigenetic tags) to quiet one half and let the other lead. In the study, the researchers discovered 78 new imprinted genes using horse-donkey hybrids...
Because the genomes of horses and donkeys differ by approximately one in every 200 base pairs (differences called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs), the paternal versus maternal contributions in their offspring can be genetically tracked...
“This discovery explains what breeders call the maternal grandsire effect,” says co-senior author Doug Antczak, equine geneticist at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Some genes, like so-called speed genes in great racehorses, skip a generation and only express in grandchildren if their carrier was a certain sex. For example, most foals of history’s best racehorse, Secretariat, raced poorly. So did his sons’ offspring. But many of his daughters’ foals were outstanding racehorses."
And some snippets from the article -
Genes work in pairs: one from each parent. But about one percent of mammalian genes choose sides, a phenomenon called genomic imprinting. Imprinted genes use molecules that bind to DNA (epigenetic tags) to quiet one half and let the other lead. In the study, the researchers discovered 78 new imprinted genes using horse-donkey hybrids...
Because the genomes of horses and donkeys differ by approximately one in every 200 base pairs (differences called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs), the paternal versus maternal contributions in their offspring can be genetically tracked...
“This discovery explains what breeders call the maternal grandsire effect,” says co-senior author Doug Antczak, equine geneticist at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Some genes, like so-called speed genes in great racehorses, skip a generation and only express in grandchildren if their carrier was a certain sex. For example, most foals of history’s best racehorse, Secretariat, raced poorly. So did his sons’ offspring. But many of his daughters’ foals were outstanding racehorses."
