Horse genetics is fascinating!
Two of my favorites include:
Chimeras (i.e. two embryos fuse in-utero)
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and Birdcatcher Spots (genetic cause unknown)
And of course, I've never made hypothetical foals ;)
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Because Tesla was an IVF baby, I had to do a paternity test in order to register her.
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You pull out a twist of mane, follicles intact for a DNA extraction and sequencing of SNPs, and they send you the results in the mail.
Who's your daddy?
LoL
My mare has birdcatcher spots, tho not as extensive as the example you showed. Funniest thing with them is that they *move* - they're not always in the same places as her coat changes. Crazy. Anyway if you're really into coat genetics the blog equine tapestry has a ton of useful info and gorgeous pics, tho it's not updated much any more...
ReplyDeleteSuch fun! I wonder what the molecular mechanism is behind that....some sort of differential gene expression or chromatin changes.....Thanks for the recommendation!
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