The concept of gene doping originated in 2001 following the publication of research documenting the development of the ‘mighty mouse’, a strain of mice displaying huge muscular gains following Igf1 gene therapy. Shortly after this, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added gene doping to its prohibited list. However, progress in developing tests to detect gene doping in humans was slow until 2016, when WADA announced that a test to detect the EPO transgene in athletes had been approved for use.
Similarly, equine gene doping was first discussed at ICRAV in 2004, but it was not until the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) formed the Gene Doping Control Sub-committee in 2016 that the development of equine gene doping detection methods commenced in earnest. In the past ten years, significant progress has been made, including extensive reviews and updating of the articles prohibiting gene doping in the International Agreement of Breeding, Racing and Wagering (IABRW), and the publication of more than 30 peer-reviewed publications detailing methods to detect equine gene doping.
Methods to detect gene doping apply various techniques including different types of PCR, next generation sequencing technologies, CRISPR, mass spectrometry, and combinations of these, and aim to identify both forms of gene doping, inserted genetic material and artificially introduced gene edits. This presentation will review this progress and discuss the next steps and challenges to protecting the biological integrity of sport.