For over 5,000 years until about 150 years ago horses were essential to human life. Their incredible strength and speed made them perfect for hard labor, travel, and racing. This athletic ability comes from their muscles, which are packed with mitochondria (the cell’s energy factories), allowing them to use oxygen efficiently.
Through evolution, horses developed a small genetic modification that helped them Produce more energy (through oxidative phosphorylation) and protect against muscle damage (from oxidative stress)
This mutation gave horses the ability to work and run for long periods, making them one of humanity’s most valuable partners.
Horses are an amazing example of evolution. Their fossils tell the story of how they changed from small, dog-sized animals to the strong, fast creatures we know today. Long before humans tamed them, nature shaped horses into incredible athletes.
Modern racehorses are incredibly fast and strong even more than top human athletes. Their bodies use oxygen twice as efficiently as ours, which gives their muscles huge amounts of energy. This lets them run faster and longer than humans ever could.
Recent genomic studies, analyzing both modern and ancient equids, have revealed interesting mutations in genes related to olfactory receptors, keratins (structural proteins), and myosin (muscle proteins). These mutations, unique to horses and absent in humans and cows, contribute to their distinctive physical characteristics. However, an important piece of the puzzle remains missing, none of these identified mutations directly explain the horses’ exceptional aerobic metabolism and energy production.
The KEAP1 Revelation:
A recent study published in the Journal Science “has highlighted an interesting genetic adaptation in horses. Researchers discovered a unique modification in the KEAP1 gene. Rather than functioning as a standard “stop” codon for protein production, this modification enhances protein production, specifically boosting energy production within muscle cells while simultaneously protecting them from oxidative stress. This “recoding” of a stop signal is a rare phenomenon, previously thought to primarily occur in viruses, and presents a crucial insight into the horses’ aerobic capabilities. This is a very recent and important findings.
Researchers looked at the DNA of horses, donkeys, and zebras. They discovered something weird a “stop” sign in a gene called KEAP1. Normally, a stop sign tells the cell to stop making a protein. But in horses, it doesn’t!
The “Stop” Turns into a “Go”:
Instead, that “stop” sign changes the protein in a special way. It turns into a different building block called cysteine. This change makes the KEAP1 protein work differently in horses.
Unique Changes in Horses:
Horses have other unique changes in their genes that help this “stop” sign turn into a “go.” These changes work together to make the KEAP1 protein even more effective. This special KEAP1 protein helps horse cells do two things; it makes them produce more energy. It also protects them from harmful chemicals. This is like having a turbocharger and a shield at the same time!
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