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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2002; 99(16); 10905-10910; doi: 10.1073/pnas.152330099

Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse.

Abstract: 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 phylogenetic clusters. Several of the clusters correspond to breeds and/or geographic areas, notably cluster A2, which is specific to Przewalski's horses, cluster C1, which is distinctive for northern European ponies, and cluster D1, which is well represented in Iberian and northwest African breeds. A consideration of the horse mtDNA mutation rate together with the archaeological timeframe for domestication requires at least 77 successfully breeding mares recruited from the wild. The extensive genetic diversity of these 77 ancestral mares leads us to conclude that several distinct horse populations were involved in the domestication of the horse.
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Publication Date: 2002-07-18 PubMed ID: 12130666PubMed Central: PMC125071DOI: 10.1073/pnas.152330099Google 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 article aims to discover whether horses were domesticated from one or multiple ancestral horse populations. The study involved sequencing the mitochondrial DNA of 318 horses from 25 different breeds. This data, combined with previous data, was used to create a phylogenetic network to determine the origins of the domestic horse. The study concludes that the extensive genetic diversity suggests multiple distinct horse populations were involved in the domestication of the horse.

Data Collection and Analysis

The researchers collected mitochondrial DNA from:

  • 318 horses from 25 different breeds, including American mustangs.
  • The data was then added to previously published data, bringing the total data set to 652 sequences, making it the largest database of its type.

This data was then used to construct a phylogenetic network. This is a branching diagram (like a family tree) used in evolutionary biology to represent the relationship between different species or populations.

Key Findings

The analysis of this data revealed that:

  • Out of the 93 different mitochondrial DNA types found, most grouped into 17 distinct phylogenetic clusters.
  • These clusters often matched certain breeds or geographic areas. For example, cluster A2 was specific to Przewalski’s horses, a breed native to Central Asia; Cluster C1 was distinctive for northern European ponies; and cluster D1 was found in Iberian and northwest African breeds.

These findings show that different breeds have different genetic markers, which indicate they have originated from different populations of wild horses.

Conclusions

Based on the mutation rate of horse mitochondrial DNA and the archaeological records that suggest when horses were first domesticated, the researchers concluded that at least 77 successfully breeding mares would have been required. The genetic diversity among these 77 mares suggests that in fact, multiple distinct horse populations were involved in the domestication of the horse. This finding challenges the belief that horses were domesticated from a single wild population and instead suggests a more complex history of horse domestication.

Cite This Article

APA
Jansen T, Forster P, Levine MA, Oelke H, Hurles M, Renfrew C, Weber J, Olek K. (2002). Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 99(16), 10905-10910. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.152330099

Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ISSN: 0027-8424
NlmUniqueID: 7505876
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 99
Issue: 16
Pages: 10905-10910

Researcher Affiliations

Jansen, Thomas
  • Biopsytec Analytik GmbH, Marie-Curie-Strasse 1, 53359 Rheinbach, Germany. jansen@biopsytec.com
Forster, Peter
    Levine, Marsha A
      Oelke, Hardy
        Hurles, Matthew
          Renfrew, Colin
            Weber, Jurgen
              Olek, Klaus

                MeSH Terms

                • Animals
                • Animals, Domestic / classification
                • Animals, Domestic / genetics
                • Base Sequence
                • DNA, Complementary
                • DNA, Mitochondrial
                • Evolution, Molecular
                • Horses / classification
                • Horses / genetics
                • Molecular Sequence Data
                • Phylogeny

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