Evolutionary biology and horses focus on the study of the evolutionary processes that have shaped the development, adaptation, and diversification of the Equus genus. This field examines the genetic, morphological, and ecological changes that have occurred over millions of years, leading to the modern horse. Researchers explore the transition from small, multi-toed ancestors to the large, single-toed horses of today, analyzing fossil records, genetic data, and environmental factors that influenced these changes. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the evolutionary history, genetic adaptations, and ecological interactions of horses, providing insights into their development and survival strategies throughout history.
Vollmerhaus B, Roos H, Gerhards H, Knospe C.The canine teeth of the horse developed phylogenically from the simple, pointed, short-rooted tooth form of the leaf eating, in pairs living, Eocene horse Hyracotherium and served up to the Oligocene as a means of defense (self preservation). In the Miocene the living conditions of the Merychippus changed and they took to eating grass and adopted as a new behavior the life in a herd. The canine teeth possibly played an important role in fights for social ranking; they changed from a crown form to knife-like shape. In the Pliohippus the canine tooth usually remained in male horses and since the...
Kaiser TM, Fortelius M.A new approach of reconstructing ungulate diet, the mesowear method, was recently introduced by Fortelius and Solounias ([2000] Am Mus Novitat 3301:1-36). Mesowear is based on facet development on the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. Restricting mesowear investigation to maxillary cheek teeth would allow mesowear investigation only in assemblages of large numbers of individuals and therefore would generally restrict this method to relatively few assemblages of recent and fossil ungulates. Most of the fossil, subfossil, and recent ungulate osteological assemblages that may be assigned to a singl...
Dittmann K.Functional bone microstructure of long limb bones is a function of species-specific biomechanical properties such as locomotion and weight. Histomorphometry and statistics were used to identify various primate species (Hylobates moloch, Pongo satyrus borneensis, Pan tr. troglodytes, Gorilla g. gorilla, Homo sapiens), equid species (Equus caballus, Equus asinus, Equus mulus, Equus hemionus kulan, Equus ferus przewalskii) and also extinct horses e.g. iron age, medieval and neolithic forms on the microstructural level. Furthermore, bones from domesticated cattle, their Neolithic forms, pigs, shee...
Rudik SK.The Ukraine is one of the centers of domestication of animals. Many archaeological excavations and chronicles evidence this. The wild horse tarpan was domesticated in Ukraine. There were huge herds of tarpans lived in Ukraine. Tarpans were distinguished for their speed, quality of their hooves (it was very important for the shoeless horses). The last tarpan mare was killed at Ukrainian territory at 1898. In contradistinction to the Eq. Prezewalskii the tarpan was the direct ancestor of the European domesticated horse breeds.
Schwartz S, Elnitski L, Li M, Weirauch M, Riemer C, Smit A, Green ED, Hardison RC, Miller W.Analysis of multiple sequence alignments can generate important, testable hypotheses about the phylogenetic history and cellular function of genomic sequences. We describe the MultiPipMaker server, which aligns multiple, long genomic DNA sequences quickly and with good sensitivity (available at http://bio.cse.psu.edu/ since May 2001). Alignments are computed between a contiguous reference sequence and one or more secondary sequences, which can be finished or draft sequence. The outputs include a stacked set of percent identity plots, called a MultiPip, comparing the reference sequence with sub...
Bjørnstad G, Nilsen NØ, Røed KH.Human populations of Central Asian origin have contributed genetic material to northern European populations. It is likely that migrating humans carried livestock to ensure food and ease transportation. Thus, eastern genes could also have dispersed to northern European livestock populations. Using microsatellite data, we here report that the essentially different genetic distances DA and (deltamu)2 and their corresponding phylogenetic trees show close associations between the Mongolian native horse and northern European horse breeds. The genetic distances between the northern European breeds a...
Graham BP.Dental care in any horse need not be looked at as the difficult challenge it used to be before the days of sedation and tungsten carbide and diamond cutting wheels. Horses are living longer and more comfortable lives thanks, in part, to the advancements of dental care and special dietary rations. With the evolution of the horse's place in family circles today, people want the best care possible for their animals. Dentistry has become an important part of that care.
Jung YH, Han SH, Shin T, Oh MY.We determined the nucleotide sequences of the hypervariable D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from horse bone (humerus, A.D. 700 to A.D. 800) that was excavated from the Kwakji archaeological site, Jeju, Korea. We compared them with ones from extant horses. We designed three pairs of oligonucleotide primers from the tRNA-Thr and tRNA-Phe gene regions of mtDNA that are highly conserved among many other animal species. We cloned 232, 336, and 644 bp from the horse bone in order to determine the mtDNA D-loop sequence. The sequence was 1,124 bp long; the middle contained 19 tandem repeats...
Raudsepp T, Lear TL, Chowdhary BP.The X chromosomes of the extant equids, in general, share morphology and banding pattern similarities. However, the donkey X is, in part, an exception because of significantly different centromeric index and variant banding patterns in the pericentromeric region. To verify the underlying molecular basis of this difference, twelve equine BAC clones were FISH mapped to donkey (EAS) and Hartmann's mountain zebra (EZH) metaphase spreads. Loci from the terminal region of Xp and distal to terminal regions of the Xq showed the same order and relative position in all three species, implying cross-spec...
Tada M, Kobashigawa Y, Mizuguchi M, Miura K, Kouno T, Kumaki Y, Demura M, Nitta K, Kawano K.Equine lysozyme is a calcium-binding lysozyme and an evolutional intermediate between non-calcium binding c-type lysozyme and alpha-lactalbumin. We constructed a chimeric protein by substituting the fluctuating loop of bovine alpha-lactalbumin with the D-helix of equine lysozyme. The substitution affects the protection factors not only in the fluctuating loop but also in the antiparallel beta-sheet, the A- and B-helices, and the loop between the B-helix and the beta-sheet. Amide protons in these regions of the chimera are more protected from exchange than are those of bovine alpha-lactalbumin....
Kavar T, Brem G, Habe F, Sölkner J, Dovc P.Sequencing of the mtDNA control region (385 or 695 bp) of 212 Lipizzans from eight studs revealed 37 haplotypes. Distribution of haplotypes among studs was biased, including many private haplotypes but only one haplotype was present in all the studs. According to historical data, numerous Lipizzan maternal lines originating from founder mares of different breeds have been established during the breed's history, so the broad genetic base of the Lipizzan maternal lines was expected. A comparison of Lipizzan sequences with 136 sequences of domestic- and wild-horses from GenBank showed a clusterin...
Howe L, Leroux C, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infection of horses is characterized by well-defined waves of viremia associated with the sequential evolution of distinct viral populations displaying extensive envelope gp90 variation; however, a correlation of in vivo envelope evolution with in vitro serum neutralization phenotype remains undefined. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to utilize a previously defined panel of natural variant EIAV envelope isolates from sequential febrile episodes to characterize the effects of envelope variation during persistent infection on viral neutralizatio...
Mirol PM, Peral García P, Vega-Pla JL, Dulout FN.South American horses constitute a direct remnant of the Iberian horses brought to the New World by the Spanish conquerors. The source of the original horses was Spain, and it is generally assumed that the animals belonged to the Andalusian, Spanish Celtic, Barb or Arabian breeds. In order to establish the relationship between Argentinean and Spanish horses, a portion of the mitochondrial D-loop of 104 animals belonging to nine South American and Spanish breeds was analysed using SSCP and DNA sequencing. The variability found both within and between breeds was very high. There were 61 polymorp...
Díaz S, Dulout FN, Peral-García P.Genetic polymorphism was analyzed for five blood proteins: albumin - Al, esterase - Es, alpha(1)B-glycoprotein - Xk, transferrin - Tf and hemoglobin - Hb in 200 Thoroughbred (TB) and 124 Argentine Creole (AC) horses. Of the five systems examined, Tf and Hb were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in either breed and Es was not in equilibrium in the Creole breed. Genetic variability, estimated as average heterozygosity, was higher in AC (H = 0.585 +/- 0.131) than in TB (H = 0.353 +/- 0.065). The genetic differentiation between these two populations (F(ST)) was 0.109. Thus, of the total genetic di...
Pirhonen A, Linnala-Kankkunen A, Kenney RM, Mäenpää PH.Protamine P1 amino acid sequences were determined from semen samples of the Przewalski horse, donkey, Somali wild ass, Grevy's zebra, and Grant's zebra (odd-toed perissodactyls), and compared with those of the domestic horse. Although the rate of amino acid variation of protamine P1 is known to be among the most rapidly diverging polypeptides, the equid sequences revealed only little variation. The sequence from the Przewalski horse was identical with that from the domestic horse. The other sequences differed from the corresponding sequences of the domestic and Przewalski horses in two positio...
Isenbügel E.Over 45 million years of evolution the horse developed to a highly specialized animal in anatomy, physiology and behavior. No other animal had influenced the economic and cultural history of men to such extent. Hunting prey since the ice age, domesticated 4000 B.C. and used for thousands of years as unique animal all over the world has attained a new role today as partner in sport, as companion animal and even as cotherapeutic. The well known behavioral demands in use and keeping are still often not fulfilled.
Harnal VK, Wildt DE, Bird DM, Monfort SL, Ballou JD.Genome resource banks (GRBs) and assisted reproductive techniques are increasingly recognized as useful tools for the management and conservation of biodiversity, including endangered species. Cryotechnology permits long-term storage of valuable genetic material. Although, the actual application to endangered species management requires technical knowledge about sperm freezing and thawing, a systematic understanding of the quantitative impacts of various germ plasm storage and use scenarios is also mandatory. In this study, various GRB strategies were analyzed using the historical data from th...
Hill EW, Bradley DG, Al-Barody M, Ertugrul O, Splan RK, Zakharov I, Cunningham EP.Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences (381 bp) from 100 thoroughbreds in 19 of the most common matrilineal female families were used to reconstruct a founder female population for the thoroughbred ( approximately 1650-1750 AD). Seventeen haplotypes were found to have contributed to the 19 female lineages. In order to place the reconstructed founder population in wider historical context, we examined, using both single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequence analysis, variation in a 343 bp mtDNA fragment in that population and 13 other horse populations of disparate provenance...
Jansen T, Forster P, Levine MA, Oelke H, Hurles M, Renfrew C, Weber J, Olek K.The place and date of the domestication of the horse has long been a matter for debate among archaeologists. To determine whether horses were domesticated from one or several ancestral horse populations, we sequenced the mitochondrial D-loop for 318 horses from 25 oriental and European breeds, including American mustangs. Adding these sequences to previously published data, the total comes to 652, the largest currently available database. From these sequences, a phylogenetic network was constructed that showed that most of the 93 different mitochondrial (mt)DNA types grouped into 17 distinct p...
Wagner B, Greiser-Wilke I, Wege AK, Radbruch A, Leibold W.It is generally assumed that the different mammalian IgG isotypes have developed during evolution by duplications of a common ancestor gamma heavy chain constant region gene (IGHG). In contrast to other species studied so far, which express between one and four IGHG genes, the horse (Equus caballus) genome contains six IGHG genes, and it has been postulated that they all can be expressed. For determination of the evolutionary history of the six horse IGHG genes, genomic DNA and cDNA of the IGHG genes were sequenced. The structure of these genes with reference to exons and introns was determine...
Raudsepp T, Mariat D, Guérin G, Chowdhary BP.A total of 32 loci comprising specific genes, microsatellites and anonymous BAC clones from horse and cattle were mapped on donkey chromosomes. Of these, 13 markers were also mapped for the first time in the horse. This information, together with that previously available in donkey and horse updates the comparative status of the karyotypes of the two species. The findings of the present study for the first time show correlation between eleven equine acrocentric autosomes and the donkey chromosomes and in part enable detection of rearrangements between them. There are still 7-8 pairs of chromos...
Vollmerhaus B, Roos H, Knospe C.The enamel cups of equids originated phylogenetically through several phases in Oligocene and Miocene horses, which readjusted from hard to soft leaf food and from double nutrition (leaves and grass) to a pure grass intake. This has been proved experimentally. The resulting construction of the incisor is continually changed on its occlusal surface by erosion according to the pattern of the enamel crests. Referring to the whole incisor tooth, this results in an equid life cycle in which the good grip of the occlusal surface and the efficiency of ingestion favours the young, sexually mature hors...
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.Whole chromosome paints for human (HSA) chromosomes 9, 12, 15 and 20 and arm-specific paints for HSA16p, 19p and 19q were applied on donkey metaphase spreads. All probes, except HSA19p, gave distinct hybridization signals on donkey chromosomes/chromosomal segments. The results show direct segmental homology between human and donkey genomes, and enable refinement of correspondence between donkey and horse karyotypes. Of specific interest is the identification of hitherto unknown correspondence between four equine acrocentric chromosomes (ECA22, 23, 25 and 28) and the donkey chromosomes. Overall...
Kniazev SP, Reissmann M, Wagner HJ, Kuraĭ MV, Samovolov NV.Results of the first in Russia survey of the gene pool of the breeding nucleus of the Russian population of thoroughbred horses by means of PCR analysis of the E (Extension) locus MC1R gene mutations are presented. The data on the structure of breeding populations from the leading stud farms Voskhod and Oros with regard to color phenotypes as well as genotype and allele frequencies are presented. The population structure parameters are discussed with respect to possible specific features of microevolution processes.
Cunningham EP, Dooley JJ, Splan RK, Bradley DG.The thoroughbred (TB) horse is one of the oldest breeds of domestic animals, with pedigree records spanning three centuries. Because the population is essentially closed, there is concern about loss of genetic variation. Here we report two parallel analyses. In the first, genetic variation in the current population is measured using data from 13 microsatellite loci in 211 horses with relationships calculated based on allele sharing. In the second analysis, pedigree information is used to calculate genetic relationships between animals based on shared ancestry. These two measures of relationshi...
Cothran EG, van Dyk E, van der Merwe FJ.Genetic variation at 7 blood-group and 10 biochemical genetic loci was examined in 30 horses from a feral herd from the Namib Desert of Namibia, Africa. The observed genetic variability was extremely low compared with that found in domestic horse breeds. The low variation was most probably a result of recent small population size and a small founding population size. Genetic comparison of the Namib horses, which were of unknown origins, to domestic horse breeds, showed that the Namib horses had the highest genetic similarity to Arabian type horses, although they did not closely resemble this t...
Vollmerhaus B, Knospe C, Roos H.Phylogenetic research on the teeth of equidae beginning with dagger Hyracotherium ('Eohippus') will be summarized, subdivided into its components, analysed in a new way and finally interpreted according to several theories of evolution. In this context, specific cells (ameloblasts, odontoblasts, cementoblasts) are discussed and valued according to Preuss (1987) as active carriers of the evolution of teeth.
Richard F, Messaoudi C, Lombard M, Dutrillaux B.Using human chromosome painting probes, we looked for homologies between human and mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae, Equidae, Perissodactyla) karyotypes. Except for two very short segments, all euchromatic regions were found to have a human homologous chromosome segment. Conserved syntenies previously described in various mammalian orders were detected. Each synteny corresponded to a chromosomal region homologous to two parts of human chromosomes: HSA3 and HSA21, HSA7 and HSA16, HSA12 and HSA22, and HSA16 and HSA19. Chromosomal segments homologous to a part of HSA11 and HSA19p are found ...
Na W, Hong M, Yeom M, Kim S, Kim JK, Song D.We analyzed the complete genome sequence containing the 3' and 5' noncoding regions (NCRs) of the Korean H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV), which will provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis, transmission, and evolution of EIV.
Prado JL, Sánchez B, Alberdi MT.Stable isotope ratios (13C/12C and 18O/16O) in fossil teeth and bone provide key archives for understanding the ecology of extinct horses during the Plio-Pleistocene in South America; however, what happened in areas of sympatry between Equus (Amerhippus) and Hippidion is less understood. Results: Here, we use stable carbon and oxygen isotopes preserved in 67 fossil tooth and bone samples for seven species of horses from 25 different localities to document the magnitude of the dietary shifts of horses and ancient floral change during the Plio-Pleistocene. Dietary reconstructions inferred from s...
Antczak DF, Allen WRT.This chapter focuses on the early stages of placental development in horses and their relatives in the genus Equus and highlights unique features of equid reproductive biology. The equine placenta is classified as a noninvasive, epitheliochorial type. However, equids have evolved a minor component of invasive trophoblast, the chorionic girdle and endometrial cups, which links the equine placenta with the highly invasive hemochorial placentae of rodents and, particularly, with the primate placenta. Two types of fetus-to-mother signaling in equine pregnancy are mediated by the invasive equine tr...
Seong HS, Kim NY, Kim DC, Hwang NH, Son DH, Shin JS, Lee JH, Chung WH, Choi JW.The Jeju horse is an indigenous horse breed in Korea. However, there is a severe lack of genomic studies on Korean horse breeds. The objective of this study was to report genomic characteristics of domestic horse populations that inhabit South Korea (Jeju, Jeju crossbred, and Thoroughbred) and a wild horse breed (Przewalski's horse). Using the equine reference genome assembly (EquCab 2.0), more than ~ 6.5 billion sequence reads were successfully mapped, which generated an average of 40.87-fold coverage throughout the genome. Using these data, we detected a total of 12.88 million SNPs, of w...
Putt W, Whitehouse DB.This paper reports genetic variation at the prealbumin (Pr), postalbumin (Pa) and transferrin (Tf) loci in Equus przewalskii found using thin layer isoelectric focusing and an amphoteric separator. The method resolves all three loci plus serum esterase (Es) on a single gel, and typing of all four loci is readily achieved. In addition to the esterase alleles previously reported by Fisher & Scott (1979), five alleles were found at the Pr locus, three at the Pa locus and six at the Tf locus. Analysis of several mating types confirms inheritance is autosomal and codominant for all four loci.
Vollmerhaus B, Roos H, Gerhards H, Knospe C.The canine teeth of the horse developed phylogenically from the simple, pointed, short-rooted tooth form of the leaf eating, in pairs living, Eocene horse Hyracotherium and served up to the Oligocene as a means of defense (self preservation). In the Miocene the living conditions of the Merychippus changed and they took to eating grass and adopted as a new behavior the life in a herd. The canine teeth possibly played an important role in fights for social ranking; they changed from a crown form to knife-like shape. In the Pliohippus the canine tooth usually remained in male horses and since the...
Allen WRT, Stansfield F, Wilsher S.The placenta and fetal gonads of 12 pregnant plains zebra (Equus quagga), estimated to be between 81 and 239 days of gestation, were examined. The diffuse, microcotyledonary zebra placenta appeared, developmentally, to be 3-4 weeks behind its counterpart in horse pregnancy and this, together with the presence of small and long-lived endometrial cups, low levels of zebra chorionic gonadotrophin in maternal serum and few accessory corpora lutea in the maternal ovaries during the first half of gestation, made zebra pregnancy more similar to donkey than horse pregnancy. Zebra fetal gonads enlarged...
Klide AM.Lumbar and thoracic vertebrae of the extinct horse, Equus occidentalis, were examined for gross and radiographic evidence of overriding spinous processes. Of 2,661 vertebrae examined, 580 had intact spinous processes. Thirty-six intact spinous processes, which appeared grossly similar to overriding spinous processes in the modern domestic horse, E caballus caballus, were radiographed. Of these 36 vertebrae, 2 had radiographic signs compatible with a radiographic diagnosis of overriding spinous processes, ie, radiographically observed lysis and/or sclerosis. Seemingly, weight bearing or other s...
Kalmykov NP.Morphological features of the teeth were studied in the three-toed horse Hipparion tchicoicum from the Pliocene of Western Transbaikalia (Russia). Several diagnostic signs of the Chicoi hipparion were described for the first time to provide criteria for distinguishing the taxon among other fossils of three-toed horses and estimating their real diversity at the final stage of their distribution in Inner Asia.
Graham BP.Dental care in any horse need not be looked at as the difficult challenge it used to be before the days of sedation and tungsten carbide and diamond cutting wheels. Horses are living longer and more comfortable lives thanks, in part, to the advancements of dental care and special dietary rations. With the evolution of the horse's place in family circles today, people want the best care possible for their animals. Dentistry has become an important part of that care.
Hampson BA, de Laat MA, Mills PC, Pollitt CC.To investigate the density of the primary epidermal lamellae (PEL) around the solar circumference of the forefeet of near-term fetal feral and nonferal (ie, domesticated) horses. Methods: Left forefeet from near-term Australian feral (n = 14) and domesticated (4) horse fetuses. Methods: Near-term feral horse fetuses were obtained from culled mares within 10 minutes of death; fetuses that had died in utero 2 weeks prior to anticipated birth date and were delivered from live Thoroughbred mares were also obtained. Following disarticulation at the carpus, the left forefoot of each fetus was frozen...
During 2013, in Argentina, three new isolates of serogroup Bunyamwera virus (genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae) were recovered from two horses with encephalitis, and from an aborted equine fetus. In the present study, we report the complete genome sequence, genetic characterization, and phylogenetic analysis of three new strains isolated in Argentina to clarifying their relationship within the Bunyamwera serogroup virus and to investigate the evolutionary history of viruses with segmented genomes.
Atsenova N, Palova N, Mehandjyiski I, Neov B, Radoslavov G, Hristov P.The question about the time and the place of horse domestication, a process which had a profound impact on the progress of mankind, is disputable. According to the most widely accepted hypothesis, the earliest domestication of the horse happened in the western parts of the Eurasian steppes, between the Northern Black Sea region and present-day Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It seems that it occurred not earlier than the first half and most probably during the middle (even the last third) of the fourth millennium BC (from ∼ 5.5 kya). The next steps of large-scale horse breeding occurred almost ...
Bartolomé E, Milho S, Prazeres J.The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) ranks horses participating in dressage tests resulting in a prestigious list where equestrians would like to see their horses ranked. The main objective of this study was to analyze morphological and genealogical differences between Lusitano horses (LPB) participating at international events and those ranked by FEI, considering pedigree information. For this study, 324 LPB participating in dressage competitions were analyzed. Thirty-two were ranked at FEI. The pedigree was reconstructed up to 1148 animals. For analyses, the complete pedigree (CP) a...
Lindgren G, Breen M, Godard S, Bowling A, Murray J, Scavone M, Skow L, Sandberg K, Guérin G, Binns M, Ellegren H.We report fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) and somatic cell hybrid mapping data for 13 different horse genes (ANP, CD2, CLU, CRISP3, CYP17, FGG, IL1RN, IL10, MMP13, PRM1, PTGS2, TNFA and TP53). Primers for PCR amplification of intronic or untranslated regions were designed from horse-specific DNA or mRNA sequences in GenBank. Two different horse bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries were screened with PCR for clones containing these 13 Type I loci, nine of which were found in the libraries. BAC clones were used as probes in dual colour FISH to confirm their precise chromosom...
Bowling AT.The genetic make-up of Great Basin wild (feral) horses was investigated by blood typing studies. Blood samples of 975 feral horses from seven trap sites in Nevada and Oregon were tested by serological and electrophoretic techniques for genetic markers at 19 polymorphic loci. The average number of variants for the seven feral populations [72.1 +/- 3.2 (SEM), range 62-85] was not significantly different from that of 16 domestic breeds (75.0 +/- 11.5, range 58-105). The expected average frequency of heterozygotes per locus (average heterozygosity) for the feral populations (0.402 +/- 0.009, range...
Autry JM, Karim CB, Perumbakkam S, Finno CJ, McKenzie EC, Thomas DD, Valberg SJ.Ca regulation in equine muscle is important for horse performance, yet little is known about this species-specific regulation. We reported recently that horse encode unique gene and protein sequences for the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca-transporting ATPase (SERCA) and the regulatory subunit sarcolipin (SLN). Here we quantified gene transcription and protein expression of SERCA and its inhibitory peptides in horse gluteus, as compared to commonly-studied rabbit skeletal muscle. RNA sequencing and protein immunoblotting determined that horse gluteus expresses the gene (SERCA1) as the predomin...
Makowiecki D, Chudziak W, Szczepanik P, Janeczek M, Pasicka E.Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th-13th c.) Poland has been largely based on historical and archaeological data. Archaeozoological information has only been used to a limited extent. Therefore, this article aims to present the current state of knowledge on this subject, drawing on archaeozoological data from studies of horse bones. Apart from confirming earlier reflections regarding the sacred significance of the horse, additional information was obtained about specific individuals who were the subject of magical treatments. It turned out that sites with horse skeletons and skull...
Kusliy MA, Druzhkova AS, Popova KO, Vorobieva NV, Makunin AI, Yurlova AA, Tishkin AA, Minyaev SS, Trifonov , Graphodatsky AS, Dymova MA, Filipenko ML.From genetic point of view, differences between ancient and modern horses can be reconstructed by using the phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial genomes and by studying phenotypically important nuclear loci. The variety of modern horse coat colors resulted from artificial selection indicates a high degree of domestication. We have conducted the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA extracted from bone samples of six ancient horses from Tsaramburial in the Republic of Buryatia, and established that they belong to a haplogroup E by Achilli’s classification. This haplogroup is found a...
Wnuk M, Oklejewicz B, Lewinska A, Zabek T, Bartosz G, Slota E, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique is widely used in animal cytogenetics. Contrary to FISH procedure, primed in situ DNA synthesis (PRINS) does not require the DNA probe preparation (design, synthesis, gel purification of PCR products and labeling). The PRINS method with primers used as 'DNA probes' is both PCR-sensitive and allows for chromosomal localization of DNA sequences. Here, we show the application of PRINS reaction with one unlabeled oligonucleotide pair to identify 18S rDNA loci in three different animal species: domestic pig (Sus scrofa), red fox (Vulpes vulpes...
Nakashima M, Noda H, Hasegaea M, Ikai A.We studied the oxygenation of mammalian hemoglobins: mouse (Mus musculus molossinus), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus), Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata), man (Homo sapiens), sheep (Ovis aries), llama (Lama glama), pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), cow (Bos taurus domesticus) and horse (Equus caballus), in the absence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) and compared their oxygen affinity in relation to the body weight. The negative correlation between body weight and the oxygen affinity of the whole blood, observed by Schmidt-Nielsen and Larimer (1958), was not observed in the absence of DPG. O...
Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Szmatoła T, Łątka J, Długosz B, Ropka-Molik K.Horse musculature has been shaped through evolution by environmental and human factors, which has resulted in several extraordinary adaptations to physical effort. Skeletal muscle plasticity results from the response to mechanical stimulation causing hypertrophy, where sarcomeres increase the muscle's cross-sectional area under the influence of contractile forces. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of transcript abundance of the telethonin () gene, which is a part of the sarcomere macromolecular mechanosensory complex in the gluteus medius muscle, and the whole blood of Arabian ho...
Wu H, Chen S, Liu M, Xu X, Ji X, Gao K, Tian A, Ke Z, Zhang J, Zhao B, Zhang S.B-cell survival depends on signals induced by B-cell activating factor (BAFF) that binds to the BAFF receptor (BAFF-R). Herein, a BAFF-R homolog was identified in a horse (Equus caballus). The horse BAFF-R gene, located on chromosome 28, spans 1444 base pairs and encodes a 183-amino acid protein. The protein is structurally conserved, in which the DxL motif plays an important role in binding to BAFF. Furthermore, the horse BAFF-R extracellular domain was expressed and purified, which specifically bound to His6-sBAFF and had the capability of blocking the function of His6-sBAFF in vitro. Finall...
Perrocheau M, Boutreux V, Chadi-Taourit S, Di Meo GP, Perucatti A, Incarnato D, Cribiu EP, Guérin G, Iannuzzi L.The INRA and the CHORI-241 horse BAC libraries were screened by hybridization with DNA probes and/or directly by PCR with primers designed in consensus sequences of genes localized at the end of each human chromosome. BAC clones were retrieved and 36 could be FISH mapped after the expected gene was confirmed in each BAC by sequencing. Our results show that 16 BACs can be considered to be at telomeric or centromeric positions in the horse and 15 were found at the boundary of actually defined conserved segments even-though often located within conserved syntenic fragments between horse and human...
Brooks SA.The sheer diversity of heritable physiological traits, and the ingenuity of genome derived research technologies, extends the study of genetics to impact diverse scientific fields. Equine science is no exception, experiencing a number of genome-enabled discoveries that spur further research in areas like nutrition, reproduction, and exercise physiology. Yet unexpected findings, especially those that over-turn commonly held beliefs in the horse industry, can create challenges in outreach, education and communication with stakeholders. For example, studies of ancient DNA revealed that the oldest...
Tada M, Kobashigawa Y, Mizuguchi M, Miura K, Kouno T, Kumaki Y, Demura M, Nitta K, Kawano K.Equine lysozyme is a calcium-binding lysozyme and an evolutional intermediate between non-calcium binding c-type lysozyme and alpha-lactalbumin. We constructed a chimeric protein by substituting the fluctuating loop of bovine alpha-lactalbumin with the D-helix of equine lysozyme. The substitution affects the protection factors not only in the fluctuating loop but also in the antiparallel beta-sheet, the A- and B-helices, and the loop between the B-helix and the beta-sheet. Amide protons in these regions of the chimera are more protected from exchange than are those of bovine alpha-lactalbumin....
Melrose PA, Knigge KM.The present study describes the topography of immunoreactive (ir) oxytocin (OXY) and vasopressin (AVP) neurons in the forebrain of Equus caballus and the coexistence of ir proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides in the same cells. These data are compared to those for other mammalian species and the possible significance of species variations is considered. As expected, magnocellular neurons of the equine hypothalamus, which contain ir OXY or AVP, have prominent discernible projections to the neurohypophysis. Further, as in other mammalian species, the field of ir OXY perikarya generally ex...
Julien MA, Rivals F, Serangeli J, Bocherens H, Conard NJ.It is often difficult to differentiate between archaeological bonebeds formed by one event such as a mass kill of a single herd, and those formed by multiple events that occurred over a longer period of time. The application of high temporal resolution studies such as intra-tooth isotopic profiles on archaeological mammal cohorts offers new possibilities for exploring this issue, allowing investigators to decipher between single and multiple accumulation events. We examined (18)O and (13)C isotopic variations from the enamel carbonate of 23 horse third molars from the Middle Pleistocene archae...
Bio SystemsFebruary 27, 2023
Volume 225 104871 doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.104871
Bhattacharjee S.Adaptations in equine limbs, including fusion of its bones, such as the metapodials II and IV (splint bones) with metapodial III (cannon bone), have been debated. It is argued that cursorial adaptations in equine limbs with a progressive reduction in the number of digits lighten up the limbs and facilitate fast running. Similar fusions in other bones, such as the radius and ulna, tend to exhibit similar traits. For example, the fusion often occurs in a disto-proximal direction while leaving sharp ridges. This article proposes a model to understand the biomechanical advantages that a fused symm...
