ThoroughGen Creates First Genetic Breeding Model for Thoroughbreds
Owego, NY (PRWEB) December 18, 2013 -- ThoroughGen, a leading equine genetics research firm, announces the release of its Breeding Cloud test that will change the way breeding pairs are chosen in the Thoroughbred industry. This new model represents the first genetics-based analysis of both the broodmare and sire in order to choose the mating pair with the best statistical chance of producing an elite racing prospect.
“Our new Breeding Cloud technology is targeted towards helping Thoroughbred breeders create a better horse from the start,” explained Dr. Steven Tammariello, lead scientist and founder of ThoroughGen. “We already have a genetic test to identify horses with the greatest racing potential, and this new model gives us the capability to identify the best possible breeding pairs. This will allow us to work with breeders to produce better horses even before conception, resulting in far fewer low quality horses being born.”
For decades, nicking has been the primary means to choose breeding pairs, however it is limited in the information it can provide a breeder because it is based on inferred genetic information primarily from the sire and broodmare sire. ThoroughGen’s new model will give breeders completely novel insights into Thoroughbred pair selection because the actual DNA sequence of each stallion and mare are known, and this information can be used to compile a “cloud” of every potential genetic offspring, including the probability of each outcome. The test takes into account the racing genotype of the mare and stallion, epistatic interactions between the mare and stallion, potential energy production of the mare and the score of reproductive potential of the stallion and the mare.
“My family has been in the racing business for generations,” said Justine Howell, a partner in ThoroughGen. “This new testing capability finally will help us as an industry to focus our efforts on breeding the best horses possible, truly enabling breeders to spend less and potentially win more.”
Based in Owego, NY, ThoroughGen is an equine genetics company with a primary focus on Thoroughbred racing. For more information, visit ThoroughGen.com.
Dr. Steven Tammariello, ThoroughGen LLC, http://thoroughgen.com/, +1 6072391366, [email protected]
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