Welcome to the Mitotyper Website
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| Charles Bruce Lowe (1845-1894) |
| Mitotyping
is a term used for biological methods that identify an individual's
matriline or maternal lineage through analysis and classification of
mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Maternal inheritance may
control or
influence the expression of traits involved with elite performance.
Inheritance of traits through the mitochondrial genome are not well
understood. Idntification of maternal haplotypes is an
important
first step toward understanding of the inheritance and expression of
performance traits in Thoroughbred
horses. [note:
the tree background image is a metaphor for the family tree and the
lineages along which travel the forces of inheritance.] I have been a Thoroughbred horse breeder for over 36 years in New Mexico. I have a passion for selective mating, historical research, and improvement of the breed. I believe that improvement to the breed can be made by breeders through selective mating. Many horse breeders since the founding of the breed have had an anecdotal belief in maternal inheritance. In 1894, Charles Bruce Lowe classified and ranked Thoroughbreds by matrilineal lineage and each family's success at elite races. His was also the first widely publicized [among Thoroughbred horse breeders], systemic attempt to document and prove maternal inheritance and the validity of certain forms of selective mating that included consideration and reinforcement of maternal lineages. During the 1960's biologists discovered the importance of the mitochondrial genome and established incontrovertible proof of the second system of biological inheritance - maternal inheritance through DNA located in the cytoplasm of the ovum. Mitotyping is the term used for methods that identify the true matriline of the individual under examination. Errors in Thoroughbred parentage classification of many historical individuals' lineages have propagated through entire branches of their family trees to the present GSB, and even when known, have never been possible to verify and corrected. - Loren Bolinger
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Brief
Explanation
of Maternal Inheritance
Charles
Bruce Lowe, the great
Australian horse breeding theorist in 1894 (among others), believed
that certain desirable qualities related to the expression of
performance traits in Thoroughbred horses were inherited through their
dams. He classified all Thoroughbreds through maternal
lineage to
their foundation matriarch. The families were then
ranked by
their cumulative success at winning certain classic races recognized by
most horsemen as the highest class of horse races. The
families
were then numbered according to their rank. This predates
modern
biological science's recognition of the importance of the mitochondrial
genome [cytoplasmic inheritance] as the second system of inheritance
[to nuclear or Mendelian – also known as the chomosome theory
of
inheritance]. Mitochondria are intimately involved with
Adenosine
Triphosphate, the fuel of the cell and the fuel of the
creature.
Over 99 per cent of the oxygen breathed by a human, a hamster,
or
a horse [i.e.,
all mammals, :-) ] is processed directly by the mitochondrial into
Adenosine Triphosphate. Only a few hundreths of a percent
difference in the efficiency of cellular energy processes inherited
from the matriline could be an immensely important advantage in elite
athletic performance.An explanation of the Foundation Matriarchs of the Thoroughbred and the Thoroughbred family numbers can be found here: http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/FamilyNumbers.htm North American Numbered Families can be found here: http://www.stallionsoftware.com/amfam1.htm |
| My
Background: I am a Thoroughbred horse breeder. I believe in breed improvement through scientific selective mating. I believe that mitochondrial inheritance from the matriline has an influence on equine racing performance. To this end, I have been studying Thoroughbred mitochondria and maternal lineages. I seek to develop rational, biologically-valid, selection and mating guidelines that improve the probabilities of producing successful racehorses. The "holy grail" of all breeders would be some equation or abstraction of bloodline affinities combined with selective breeding patterns [genotype], biomechanical proportions [phenotype], parental and familial past performances, environmental factors, and intangible courage/heart factors. |
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Mitochondria
 "Image showing a single 3D projection out of a longer time lapse movie of GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) expressed in Mitochondria of a single cell. 4dimensional image series recorded with a Zeiss confocal microscope LSM 510 and processed with the Zeiss LSM software, image courtesy by Carl Zeiss MicroImaging, Inc. Thornwood, USA." |
| Selecting
horses
to mate
involves the wise use of phenotypic factors such as matching the
biomechanical conformation of the parents, selecting for qualities of
anatomical proportions, the utilization of genotypic factors
such
as pedigree matching based on lineages, inbreeding and other
pedigree patterns, maternal inheritance, adopting management
techniques and environmental factors to raise Thoroughbreds under
optimum conditions. The breeder must select sires and dams
for
compatibility, select and/or acquire sires and dams with
the
best, affordable genetic potential possible. He must develop
rational,
biologically-valid, selection and mating guidelines that improve the
probabilities of producing successful racehorses. Running Horse Farm was founded in 1969 as a commercial Thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm and been in continuous operation for over 36 years. We've had 1 to 5 stallions at stud each year, breeding about 15-30 mares per year on average. Currently we stand 3 stallions, own 7 mares, various babies, etc. Usually, we race 1 or 2 racehorses per year at racetracks in the Southwest. We breed, raise, care for, and break our own horses. As you may know, for most horsemen, racehorses are somewhat like a giant blackhole sucking up ALL the money, and more - so, I suppose, the reward is the journey, not the destination... Yours
truly,
Loren Bolinger |
