5 Jan 2022
RVC, University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory and Rossdales Laboratories in Newmarket find condition previously thought to be found only in warmblood horses.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Image © Valeri Vatel / Adobe Stock
A collaborative study has found the first case of fragile foal syndrome (FFS) in a Thoroughbred – a condition previously found only in warmblood horses.
FFS is characterised as a connective tissue defect sparked by a DNA change in the procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1) gene.
An inherited autosomal recessive disorder, a foal will only be affected if it has two copies of the mutation – and if it does it will be born with extensive skin lesions, thin and fragile skin, and musculoskeletal abnormalities. They can be aborted, stillborn or euthanised shortly after birth.
The RVC, the University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) and Rossdales Laboratories in Newmarket have been working together on a collaborative study.
Rebecca Bellone and her team at the VGL identified the change in DNA in the PLOD1 gene in other breeds, which prompted her to approach the RVC Equine Pregnancy Laboratory to screen for the condition in its biobank of clinical cases of pregnancy loss.
The research, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, challenges the previous misconception that the disorder affects only warmbloods. Historically known as warmblood FFS, the research calls for a change in the name to just FFS, the need for genetic testing for FFS in horse breeds carrying the gene mutation and further research focusing on diagnostic criteria.
RVC PhD student Jessica Roach said: “Pregnancy loss, stillbirth and neonatal death remain an important source of reproductive losses for horse breeders worldwide. Over the course of my PhD we have collated a large biobank of tissue and data from late term pregnancy losses through the generous cooperation of UK and Ireland Thoroughbred stud farms, and Rossdales Laboratories, Newmarket.
“This has allowed us to explore the risk factors and pathology of many different causes of abortion and stillbirth. The collaboration provided a fantastic opportunity to explore FFS in our Thoroughbred population and identify the first Thoroughbred affected individual.
“While clearly a distressing condition for affected foals and their owners, the good news is that this lethal syndrome can be avoided with testing and careful mating selection.”
In a separate development, The One Health Cardiology Research Group at the University of Surrey has been granted £180,000 from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Welfare Research Foundation to find new ways to improve racehorse welfare.
The grant – awarded to Rebecca Lewis, lecturer in physiology, and Kamalan Jeevaratnam at the Department of Veterinary Preclinical Sciences – will be used to map out the entire equine cardiac ion channelome in healthy and diseased horses.
The study is a collaboration between researchers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the US and UK.
