Baker Institute for Animal Health

DEDICATED TO THE STUDY OF VETERINARY INFECTIOUS DISEASES, IMMUNOLOGY, CANCER, REPRODUCTION, GENOMICS AND EPIGENOMICS

Douglas Antczak Travels to Qatar

Baker Institute faculty member Douglas Antczak is working on a project to sequence the genome of the Arabian oryx.

Dr. Douglas Antczak has returned from a recent trip to Qatar, where he gathered samples for his genomics research on the Arabian horse, dromedary camel, and Arabian oryx (pictured). Dr. Antczak has an outstanding history of research in the biology of the horse, which are racing animals and beasts burden in most parts of the world, but on the other side of the planet, in Qatar, camels also step in to run the track and carry heavy loads. The Dromedary camel, together with the Arabian horse and the Arabian oryx, represent three iconic mammals of the Arabian Peninsula, and with support from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Dr. Antczak’s lab is sequencing and exploring the genomes of these three species.

By gauging the diversity of these genomes within species and identifying commonalities between different species, Dr. Antczak hopes to identify genomic regions that contain novel pathways for survival in an arid environment and gain insights into how these species might survive in a future in which climate change further diminishes water resources on the Arabian Peninsula.

Funded by the Qatar National Research Foundation, Dr. Antczak’s project involves scientists from several units of Cornell University, including Weill-Cornell Medical College - Doha, and local stakeholders in Qatar.