DNA polymorphism analysis of hereditary multiple exostoses in horses.

This research analyzes the genetic differences between healthy horses and those with a hereditary condition, multiple exostoses, by examining DNA polymorphisms, with specific attention to oncogenes. The researchers investigate which oncogenes are present in the horse genome and assess similarity patterns between healthy horses and those with the condition.

Exploration of DNA Polymorphisms

• The research is centered around the analysis of DNA polymorphisms, or variations in the DNA sequence, from healthy horses and horses afflicted with hereditary multiple exostoses, a condition that involves the growth of benign, or non-cancerous, bone tumors.
• The analysis was conducted by taking the DNA and cutting it into fragments using restriction enzymes. These fragments were then matched, or “hybridized,” against oncogene probes. Oncogenes are genes that have the potential to cause cancer.

Oncogene Identification

• The study looked specifically at six oncogenes labeled with isotopes. These included the viral oncogene v-ras and the cellular oncogenes c-raf-1, c-fes, c-myb, c-myc, and c-sis.
• No hybridization was detected with the v-ras oncogene, suggesting it is not present in the horse genome.
• However, the other five oncogenes were found to be present in the horse genome, and these showed similar patterns of hybridization and intensity in the DNA from both healthy horses and those with the multiple exostoses condition.

Discovery of Unique DNA Polymorphisms

• Unique and distinct DNA polymorphisms were found when the c-raf-1 oncogene probe was used in hybridization with DNA that had been digested with the enzymes BamHI and PstI.
• This suggests a specific variation in the horse genome related to this oncogene, but it is unclear from this abstract whether this variation is associated with the multiple exostoses condition or if it is just a general feature of the equine genome.