Professors Jim Mickelson, PhD, and Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine are among the authors of “Genome Sequence, Comparative Analysis, and Population Genetics of the Domestic Horse,” to be published in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science. The paper will be the first published report of the horse genome sequence.

“The sequencing of the equine genome and the publication of this paper in the prestigious journal Science is an important advance for veterinary medicine as well as human health,” said Trevor Ames, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Jim Mickelson, Stephanie Valberg, and their team have achieved a major scientific milestone that will benefit animals and people. We’re very proud of them.”

Sequencing of the horse genome began in 2006, building upon a 10-year collaborative effort known as the Horse Genome Project, in which an international team of scientists built preliminary maps of the horse genome and began using genomics tools to address health issues in horses. Mickelson and Valberg played substantial roles in the project, particularly in building the initial maps of the horse genome and demonstrating that the horse genome maps and DNA sequence tools could be used to identify disease-causing mutations. A team of researchers at the Broad Institute, a research collaboration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, completed the sequencing and assembly of the horse genome in collaboration with other scientists at 20 universities around the world.

The sequencing of the horse genome allows scientists to better understand the genetic aspects of equine physiology and develop new therapies for many diseases in which gene mutations or alterations in gene expression play a major role, such as muscle diseases, orthopedic diseases, recurrent airway disease, metabolic syndrome, colic, laminitis, and immune-mediated diseases. The genome sequence will also provide new insights into behavioral disorders, resistance and susceptibility to infectious diseases, and performance traits