A Good Dog with Great Genes

In 1925, a male sled dog named Balto led a 13-dog team through an extreme snowstorm during the final part of a 1,088-kilometer trip. The trip brought lifesaving medicine to the Alaskan city of Nome during an outbreak of the disease diphtheria. Sled dogs pull sleds, which are small vehicles with a flat bottom that are used for moving over snow or ice. Balto was celebrated as a hero. He became the subject of books and movies. His preserved body still stands at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the state of Ohio.

1925 年，一只名叫 Balto 的雄性雪橇犬在 1,088 公里旅程的最后阶段带领 13 条雪橇犬队穿越了极端的暴风雪。在白喉病爆发期间，这次旅行为阿拉斯加的诺姆市带来了救命药。雪橇犬拉雪橇，这是一种底部平坦的小型车辆，用于在雪地或冰面上移动。巴尔托被誉为英雄。他成为书籍和电影的主题。他保存完好的遗体至今仍保存在俄亥俄州的克利夫兰自然历史博物馆。

Recently, scientists took DNA from Balto’s preserved body and studied it as part of a large project called Zoonomia. The massive study compares genetic information in different animals and humans. Balto’s genome, the scientists found, had certain genes that may have helped the dog deal with the extreme Alaskan environment and make it through the difficult trip. Balto belonged to a population of working sled dogs in Alaska. The population was found to have greater genetic diversity and genetic health than modern dogs.

最近，科学家们从 Balto 保存完好的尸体中提取了 DNA，并将其作为名为 Zoonomia 的大型项目的一部分进行研究。这项大规模研究比较了不同动物和人类的遗传信息。科学家们发现，Balto 的基因组中有某些基因可能帮助这只狗应对阿拉斯加的极端环境并度过了艰难的旅程。 Balto 属于阿拉斯加的一群工作雪橇犬。发现该种群比现代狗具有更大的遗传多样性和遗传健康。

Diphtheria is a serious and sometimes deadly bacterial infection. When it spread among Nome’s people, its port was blocked by ice. Sled dogs were the only way to get the important medicine to the city. Balto was one of 150 dogs that pulled sleds for parts of the 127-hour trip. During the trip, temperatures reached minus-45 degrees Celsius.

白喉是一种严重的、有时甚至是致命的细菌感染。当它在诺姆的人民中传播时，它的端口被冰封住了。雪橇犬是将重要药物运往城市的唯一途径。 Balto 是在 127 小时的部分行程中拉雪橇的 150 只狗之一。旅途中，气温达到零下45摄氏度。

The researchers examined Balto’s genome as a part of a dataset of 682 genomes from modern dogs and their animal ancestors, the wolf. The research also included the genes of 240 mammals and genes from humans. Balto’s genome showed lower rates of inbreeding than almost all modern dog breeds. Inbreeding is when animals are born from closely related parents. His genome also showed a lower rate of rare and possibly damaging genetic differences. Balto was found to share ancestry with breeds like modern Siberian huskies and Alaskan sled dogs. He also was found to share ancestry with Greenland sled dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs. There was little evidence of wolf ancestry.

研究人员将 Balto 的基因组作为现代狗及其动物祖先狼的 682 个基因组数据集的一部分进行了检查。该研究还包括 240 种哺乳动物的基因和来自人类的基因。 Balto 的基因组显示近亲繁殖率低于几乎所有现代犬种。近亲繁殖是指动物由密切相关的父母所生。他的基因组还显示出较低的罕见且可能具有破坏性的遗传差异。 Balto 被发现与现代西伯利亚哈士奇犬和阿拉斯加雪橇犬等品种有共同的祖先。他还被发现与格陵兰雪橇犬、越南乡村犬和藏獒有共同祖先。几乎没有狼血统的证据。

Born in 1919, Balto was part of a population of sled dogs imported from Siberia, known as Siberian huskies. The study showed that these dogs greatly differed from modern Siberian huskies, however. Balto had a body built for strength and not speed, which his breeder did not necessarily like. The breeder had the dog’s sex organs removed so he could not be used to produce young dogs. Balto’s life after that Alaska trip was a difficult one. He was mistreated by humans. Thankfully, a visiting Cleveland businessman saw Balto’s mistreatment and bought the dogs for $1,500. The money was raised by the local community in Cleveland.

Balto 出生于 1919 年，是从西伯利亚进口的雪橇犬种群的一部分，被称为西伯利亚哈士奇犬。然而，研究表明，这些狗与现代西伯利亚哈士奇犬有很大不同。巴尔托的身体是为了力量而不是速度而建造的，他的饲养员不一定喜欢这一点。饲养员切除了狗的性器官，因此不能用来繁殖幼犬。巴尔托在阿拉斯加之行后的生活很艰难。他受到人类的虐待。值得庆幸的是，一位来访的克利夫兰商人看到巴尔托受到虐待，并以 1,500 美元的价格买下了这些狗。这笔钱是由克利夫兰当地社区筹集的。

In 1927, Balto and his dog co-runners Alaska Slim, Billy, Fox, Old Moctoc, Sye, and Tillie were celebrated in Cleveland on their arrival. They then spent the rest of their lives cared for at the local Brookside Zoo. Balto died of natural causes in 1933. Kathleen Morrill is the study’s co-writer and a scientist at the biotech company Colossal Biosciences. She said of Balto’s heroic mission, “These specialized dogs don’t know that what they do has such gravity in people’s lives.” She added that the sled dogs’ genetic makeup “set them up to be the best animals for the job.”

1927 年，Balto 和他的爱犬 Alaska Slim、Billy、Fox、Old Moctoc、Sye 和 Tillie 在抵达克利夫兰时受到了庆祝。然后他们在当地的布鲁克赛德动物园度过了余生。 Balto 于 1933 年自然死亡。Kathleen Morrill 是该研究的合著者，也是生物技术公司 Colossal Biosciences 的科学家。她谈到 Balto 的英勇使命时说，“这些专门的狗不知道它们所做的事情对人们的生活有如此重大的影响。”她补充说，雪橇犬的基因构成“使它们成为最适合这项工作的动物。”

词汇：

Sled dog: 雪橇狗

Musher: 驾驶雪橇的人

Iditarod: 一年一度的阿拉斯加雪橇狗竞赛

Husky: 胡斯基犬，一种常用于雪橇狗运动的犬种

Malamute: 马拉穆特犬，一种与胡斯基相似的雪橇犬品种

Team: 雪橇狗的队伍

Lead dog: 队伍中带头的狗，通常是最聪明、最有经验的狗

Wheel dog: 队伍中拉雪橇最后面的狗

Dog booties: 狗用的鞋子，保护它们的脚掌免受寒冷和伤害

Dog sled: 雪橇狗拉的雪橇

口语：

I love watching the sled dog races every year. 我每年都喜欢观看雪橇狗竞赛。

Have you ever been mushing? It's an amazing experience. 你去过驾驶雪橇吗？那是一次非常棒的体验。

My favorite sled dog is the lead dog named Luna. She's so smart and quick. 我最喜欢的雪橇狗是一只叫Luna的带头狗。它聪明又快速。

The dogs were so energetic and enthusiastic when we hooked them up to the sled. 当我们把狗绑在雪橇上时，它们非常有活力和热情。

It's important to make sure the dogs have plenty of water and rest during the race. 确保比赛期间狗有充足的水和休息非常重要。