Maternal influences

(University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna) In horse breeding, stallions are usually used to establish a breeding line. In some cases, however, the maternal lineage plays a more important role. Researchers from the Vetmeduni Vienna looked at the gestation length of different mare families and discovered that the length of gestation varies significantly from lineage to lineage. Certain families also produce more female offspring than male foals. The results were published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news