Mechano-genetic of equids' hoof

Hoof shape is an example of a mechanogenetic system involving genes responsive to cellular external forces. In biology it is becoming increasingly obvious that many phenotypes can be redefined at the cellular level as disorders of mechanotransduction, which is the way in which cells sense physical forces and translate them into a biological or biochemical response through changes in gene expression. While the importance of mechanotransduction and physics is recognised across the scientific community, there is still much to be done to understand the importance of physics at the whole organism level and in the field of animal health these studies are completely novel. The aim is to explore how genotype links to phenotype with respect to mechanosensitive traits involved in hoof growth and shape to understand how DNA variation in genes which regulate the cell response to physical forces impacts on the 'macroscopic' phenotype seen at the whole organism level.