The first draft of a horse’s genome—or genetic material—sequence has been deposited in public databases and is available for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the world, the international Horse Genome Sequencing Project announced on Wednesday.

The $15-million effort to sequence approximately 2.7-billion DNA base pairs in the genome of the horse was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute. A team led by Dr. Kerstin Lindblad-Toh at the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University carried out the sequencing and assembly of the horse genome.

Sequencing of the domestic horse genome began in 2006 and built upon a ten-year effort to use genomics to address important health issues for equines.

DNA was used in the sequencing efforts from a Thoroughbred named Twilight, who is stabled at Cornell University in New York along with band of horses that have been selected and bred for more than 25 years to study the mechanisms that prevent maternal immunological recognition and destruction of a developing fetus during pregnancy.

There are more than 80 known genetic conditions in horses that are genetically similar to disorders seen in humans, including musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases.

Over the next several months, researchers plan to further improve the accuracy of the horse genome sequence and expect to deposit an even higher resolution assembly in public databases. Comparing the horse and human genomes will help medical researchers learn more about the human genome and also will serve as a tool for veterinary researchers to better understand the disease that affects equines.