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>Lear, T > Research Interests
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Why study horses and their relatives? |
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Horses are the number one economic industry in Kentucky.
Understanding the genome organization of the horse is key
to understanding how to improve the health of horses, thereby
improving the economy of Kentucky and the welfare of its
citizens.
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Most horse relatives can be infected with horse pathogens,
but the outcome is different. We want to identify the
determinants of resistance for horse diseases and the key
may reside in understanding the species specific resistance
of other Equidae. Members of the family Equidae, about
10 species, all have different diploid chromosome numbers
ranging from 66 to 32. Studying their chromosomes and
genome organization provides information that can lead
to a better understanding of how differences in their genomes
may influence resistance to infectious diseases, as well
as how speciation occurred in this family.
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Inclusion of other Perissodactyls enables us to gather
information on what mechanisms have contributed to chromosome
evolution in this order, such as Robertsonian translocations,
telomere fusions, translocations, centromere shifts and neocentromere
formation. This information contributes to the overall understanding
of how ancestral mammalian chromosomes might have been organized
and how chromosome changes affect speciation.
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Maxwell H.Gluck Equine Research Center
Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40546-0099
Main Office (859) 257-4757
Fax (859) 257-8542
