President Oral Presentation Pick: Select skeletal muscle mitochondrial measures in Thoroughbred weanlings are related to race earnings and sire
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AbstractQuantifiable, cellular differences of individuals are not widely used in breeding and training decisions in the equine industry. Our objective was to determine if mitochondrial parameters in weanling Thoroughbreds were related to sire or lifetime race earnings. We hypothesized that weanling skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity would be positively correlated with race earnings. Gluteus medius muscle samples were collected from racing-bred Thoroughbred weanlings (n = 139; mean SD; 6.0 0.4 mo) from 40 different sires over 3 years at 5 different farms and evaluated for mitochondrial volume density (citrate synthase activity; CS) and function (cytochrome c oxidase activity) by colorimetry, and oxidative (P) and electron transport system (E) capacities by high resolution respirometry; two- and three-year-old race earnings were available for a subset of 13 horses. Data were analyzed using mixed linear models with sire, sex, year of collection, and farm as fixed effects. Correlations between lifetime race earnings and mitochondrial measures were determined using Pearson Correlation Statistics. A main effect of sire was observed for weanling intrinsic (relative to CS activity) P with complex I substrates (P = 0.04) and the contribution of mitochondrial leak to O2 consumption (FCRL; P = 0.04). A trend was observed for the effect of sire on intrinsic mitochondrial leak (P = 0.09). Race earnings were positively correlated with integrated (relative to mg protein) leak (r = 0.7684, P = 0.009) and FCRL (r = 0.7035; P = 0.02). A trend for a negative correlation between E with complex II substrates and race earnings was also observed (r = -0.4775, P = 0.09), No other measures were influenced by sire, nor were correlated with race earnings. Our previous work has indicated a preferential use of complex I in breeds bred for short-duration racing (Thoroughbreds) compared to distance racing breeds (Standardbreds) that relied more heavily on complex II. Mitochondrial measures in weanlings may be utilized to inform future breeding and training decisions in horses.
