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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(12); 2021; doi: 10.3390/ani13122021

Genetic Diversity and Maternal Phylogenetic Relationships among Populations and Strains of Arabian Show Horses.

Abstract: Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships within the Arabian show horse populations are of particular interest to breeders worldwide. Using the complete mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence (916 pb), this study aimed (i) to understand the genetic relationship between three populations, the Desert-Bred (DB), a subset of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain (BAH), the Straight Egyptian (EG) and the Polish bloodline (PL), and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the traditional strain classification system based on maternal lines, as stated by the Bedouin culture. To that end, we collected 211 hair samples from stud farms renowned for breeding Arabian show horses from Nejd KSA, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, UAE, and Poland. The phylogenetic and network analyses of the whole mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence highlighted a great genetic diversity among the Arabian horse populations, in which about 75% of variance was assigned to populations and 25% to strains. The discriminant analysis of principal components illustrated a relative distinction between those populations. A clear subdivision between traditional strains was found in PL, in contrast to the situation of DB and EG populations. However, several Polish horse individuals could not be traced back to the Bedouin tribes by historical documentation and were shown to differ genetically from other studied Bedouin strains, hence motivating extended investigations.
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Publication Date: 2023-06-17 PubMed ID: 37370531PubMed Central: PMC10295422DOI: 10.3390/ani13122021Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research explores genetic diversity and maternal lineage relationships among populations and strains of Arabian show horses from select regions. The findings reveal that about 75% of genetic variance is assigned to different geographic populations and 25% is linked to specific horse strains. Interestingly, the Polish line of horses showed a clear distinction from the Desert-Bred and Straight Egyptian lines.

Research Background

  • This study concerns the Arabian show horse, a breed prized and globally renowned for its beauty, endurance, and athleticism.
  • The researchers are particularly interested in understanding the genetic diversity within this breed and the maternal lineage connections among different populations and strains.
  • To illuminate these relationships, they study the complete mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence from each horse, which provides insights into the maternal lineage due to its direct maternal inheritance.

Aims and Methodology

  • The researchers propose two primary objectives: (i) to explore the genetic relationships between three Arabian horse populations, namely, the Desert-Bred from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain; the Straight Egyptian; and the Polish bloodline, and (ii) to assess the accuracy of the traditional strain classification system based on maternal lines, as is accepted by Bedouin culture.
  • To help achieve these aims, the researchers collected hair samples from 211 horses at stud farms known for breeding Arabian show horses in the Nejd region of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, UAE, and Poland.

Findings and Interpretations

  • The researchers found a significant genetic diversity among Arabian horse populations based on the mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence analysis.
  • About 75% of this genetic variance could be ascribed to differences among the geographic populations, indicating a high degree of genetic differentiation between these groups of horses.
  • The remaining 25% of variance could be linked to different strains within these geographic populations, suggesting a lower degree of genetic differentiation at the strain level.
  • The data indicates a relative distinction between the analysed populations, which may be due to various factors like geographical separation, breeding practices, or founder effects.
  • Intriguingly, the Polish horses displayed a clear genetic distinction from the Desert-Bred and Straight Egyptian populations, implying different maternal lineages.
  • However, some Polish horses could not be historically traced back to Bedouin tribes and were genetically different from other Bedouin strains, necessitating further research.

Cite This Article

APA
Machmoum M, Badaoui B, Petit D, Germot A, El Alaoui MA, Boujenane I, Piro M. (2023). Genetic Diversity and Maternal Phylogenetic Relationships among Populations and Strains of Arabian Show Horses. Animals (Basel), 13(12), 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13122021

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 12
PII: 2021

Researcher Affiliations

Machmoum, Mohamed
  • Veterinary Genetic Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Reproduction, Institut Agronomique Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat 10101, Morocco.
Badaoui, Bouabid
  • Biodiversity, Ecology and Genome Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat 15062, Morocco.
  • African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Laâyoune 70000, Morocco.
Petit, Daniel
  • LABCiS, University of Limoges, UR 22722, F-87000 Limoges, France.
Germot, Agnès
  • LABCiS, University of Limoges, UR 22722, F-87000 Limoges, France.
El Alaoui, Moulay Abdelaziz
  • Superior School of Technology, EST-Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra 14000, Morocco.
Boujenane, Ismaïl
  • Department of Animal Production and Biotechnology, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat 10101, Morocco.
Piro, Mohammed
  • Veterinary Genetic Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Reproduction, Institut Agronomique Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat 10101, Morocco.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Saldaña CL, Justo S, Murga L, Vásquez HV, Maicelo JL, Arbizu CI, Bardales W. Mitochondrial genome assembly of the Peruvian Paso horse through PacBio long-read sequencing. Sci Rep 2025 Dec 21;16(1):85.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-29107-xpubmed: 41423464google scholar: lookup
  2. Agbani A, Aminou O, Machmoum M, Germot A, Badaoui B, Petit D, Piro M. A Systematic Literature Review of Mitochondrial DNA Analysis for Horse Genetic Diversity. Animals (Basel) 2025 Mar 20;15(6).
    doi: 10.3390/ani15060885pubmed: 40150414google scholar: lookup
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