Beautiful buttock sheep and the legacy of Solid Gold
Comparing human and sheep genomic sequences reveals six imprinted genes at the callipyge locus
The mutation appeared to be a miracle. Sheep breeders in Oklahoma had been selecting for increased muscle in their flock, and in 1983 a lamb was born that developed an overly muscular rump. The breeders named the ram Solid Gold and saved him from slaughter. He went on to sire offspring with the pronounced hindquarters, some of which also passed on the mutation. These sheep became known as callipyge, the name callipyge comes from the Greek for 'beautiful buttocks'. All born since are his descendants.They're Arnold Schwarzenegger-shaped, and their meat's tougher than hell.
