This one gene mutation helped horses evolve unmatched endurance.
by Tibi Puiu
April 4, 2025
At first glance, it looked like a genetic error — so severe it should have crippled the animal. But instead, it helped turn horses into nature’s long-distance runners.
Researchers studying the DNA of nearly 200 mammal species noticed something strange in the genome of horses: a mutation in a gene that should have shut down a key cellular process. The gene, KEAP1, is vital for defending cells from the chemical stress caused by high levels of oxygen metabolism. Yet somehow, horses weren’t just surviving with this broken gene — they were thriving. A Deal With the Devil, Perfected
“To make energy, we’ve made a deal with the devil,” Gianni Castiglione, an evolutionary biologist at Vanderbilt University, told NPR. “To, basically, have a slow burning fire in our cells.”
That fire powers our lives, turning oxygen into energy in the form of ATP. But it also produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), toxic molecules that can damage DNA, proteins, and cell membranes. For most animals, this presents a trade-off: make too much energy, and cells get overwhelmed by damage. But horses, it seems, found a workaround...
Read more here:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/horses-have-a-genetic-glitch-that-turned-them-into-super-athletes/
