Syngene's Genetools and Genedirectory automated DNA and protein gel analysis software packages are being used in an equine research centre at the University of Lincoln in the UK.
The software is being used to quantify and identify protein trends in a debilitating equine disease.
Researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Lincoln are using Genetools to quantify proteins derived from muscle and blood of horses suffering from Equine Exertional Rhabdomyolysis (EER) run on 1D SDS Page gels reverse stained with copper dye.
The scientists are then using Genedirectory to determine which of the thousands of proteins present are linked to this condition.
They hope this study will provide information to produce a diagnostic test for EER.
'EER is a very serious disease in competition and race horses as it leads to a loss of performance and can also result in necrosis of skeletal muscle tissue,' said Emma Banfield, a researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Lincoln.
'Currently, the only method of diagnosing this disease is to use a muscle biopsy, which is invasive and painful.
'By looking for specific proteins in the muscle and blood of horses that are suffering from EER, we are hoping to identify any trends associated with this disease that will lead to being able to diagnose this condition with a simple blood test.
'This is why we need software that can accurately quantify small amounts of protein on gels and then allow us to group all these proteins together to see any trends.' 'The research at the University of Lincoln shows that Syngene's software can be used on its own to accurately detect similarities in vast numbers of proteins,' said Laura Sullivan, Syngene's divisional manager.
