animals Article Polymorphisms at Myostatin Gene (MSTN) and the Associations with Sport Performances in Anglo-Arabian Racehorses Emanuela Pira 1, Giuseppe Massimo Vacca 2 , Maria Luisa Dettori 2 , Gianpiera Piras 3, Massimiliano Moro 4, Pietro Paschino 2 and Michele Pazzola 2,* 1 Local Health Authority 7 Pedemontana, Via dei Lotti 40, 36061 Bassano del Grappa, Italy;
[email protected] 2 Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
[email protected] (G.M.V.);
[email protected] (M.L.D.);
[email protected] (P.P.) 3 Local Health Authority of Oristano, Via Carducci 35, 09170 Oristano, Italy;
[email protected] 4 Local Health Authority of Nuoro, Via Amerigo Demurtas 1, 08110 Nuoro, Italy;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +39-079229509 Simple Summary: Myostatin is a protein which plays a key role in the regulation and differentiation of cells. The encoding gene, MSTN, and its mutations have been studied in cattle because of the association with increased muscle masses. In horses, some polymorphisms at MSTN have favorable effects on sport performance, as evidenced for the Thoroughbred breed. The Anglo-Arabian horse is a very common breed in many Mediterranean countries because of its extreme adaptability, but genetic investigations are rare in the literature. The present study evidenced the relatively high variability of this breed at MSTN. Many phenotypic effects, such as sex and genealogy, affected the results but, overall, the same polymorphic sites already reported for Thoroughbred horses affected Citation: Pira, E.; Vacca, G.M.; race performances also in Anglo-Arabians. Dettori, M.L.; Piras, G.; Moro, M.; Paschino, P.; Pazzola, M.