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Shvoong Home>Science>Biology>A Mutation in the Myostatin Gene Increases Muscle Mass and Enhances Racing Performance in Heterozygo Summary

A Mutation in the Myostatin Gene Increases Muscle Mass and Enhances Racing Performance in Heterozygo

Book Summary   by:PLoS     Original Authors: Mosher Dana S; Quignon Pascale; Bustamante Carlos D; Sutter Nathan B; Mellersh Cathryn S; Parker Heidi G; Ostrander Elaine A
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Double muscling is a trait previously described in several mammalian species including cattle and sheep and is caused by mutations in the myostatin (MSTN) gene (previously referred to as GDF8). Here we describe a new mutation in MSTN found in the whippet dog breed that results in a double-muscled phenotype known as the bully whippet. Individuals with this phenotype carry two copies of a two-base-pair deletion in the third exon of MSTN leading to a premature stop codon at amino acid 313. Individuals carrying only one copy of the mutation are, on average, more muscular than wild-type individuals (p 7.43 106; Kruskal-Wallis Test) and are significantly faster than individuals carrying the wild-type genotype in competitive racing events (Kendall''s nonparametric measure, 0.3619; p 0.00028). These results highlight the utility of performance-enhancing polymorphisms, marking the first time a mutation in MSTN has been quantitatively linked to increased athletic performance.
Published: May 25, 2007   
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