FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Animal genetics2006; 37(5); 498-502; doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2006.01506.x

Mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity in extant Irish horse populations and in ancient horses.

Abstract: Equine mitochondrial DNA sequence variation was investigated in three indigenous Irish horse populations (Irish Draught Horse, Kerry Bog Pony and Connemara Pony) and, for context, in 69 other horse populations. There was no evidence of Irish Draught Horse or Connemara Pony sequence clustering, although the majority of Irish Draught Horse sequences (47%) were assigned to haplogroup D. Conversely, 31% of the Kerry Bog Pony sequences were assigned to the rare haplogroup E. In addition to the extant population analyses, ancient DNA sequences were generated from three out of four Irish archaeological specimens, all of which were assigned to haplogroup A.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2006-09-19 PubMed ID: 16978181DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2006.01506.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Comparative Study
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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 investigates the variation in mitochondrial DNA sequences in modern and ancient horse populations from Ireland. The authors explore whether specific genetic markers, called haplogroups, are characteristic of certain breeds and how these compare to genetic information from ancient specimens.

Investigation of Modern Irish Horse Populations

  • The study looked into the mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in three indigenous Irish horse populations: Irish Draught Horse, Kerry Bog Pony, and Connemara Pony. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the female parent and can provide information about the maternal lineage of an individual or population.
  • The genetic sequences of these Irish horse populations were then compared to those of 69 other horse populations to provide a broader context for the findings.
  • No specific clustering, which would imply shared maternal ancestors, was identified in the sequences from the Irish Draught Horse or Connemara Pony populations.
  • However, a significant proportion (47%) of the Irish Draught Horse genetic sequences were found to belong to haplogroup D, a classification that groups individuals sharing a common matrilineal ancestor.

Kerry Bog Pony Findings

  • On the other hand, 31% of the Kerry Bog Pony sequences were assigned to haplogroup E. This is notable as haplogroup E is considered rare.
  • The prevalence of this rare haplogroup within the Kerry Bog Pony population may indicate a unique matrilineal lineage or reveal traces of ancient maternal ancestors still present in this breed.

Ancient DNA Analysis

  • Furthermore, the research also involved the analysis of ancient DNA sequences. These sequences were obtained from four Irish archaeological horse specimens, with successful results obtained from three of them.
  • All of these ancient sequences were assigned to haplogroup A, providing insight into the maternal lineage of ancient Irish horses.
  • Such findings may offer information on the history of horse breeding in Ireland and how it has influenced current horse populations.

This study contributes to our understanding of horse genetics and breeding history in Ireland, potentially informing conservation efforts for indigenous breeds and opening avenues for further research into equine genetics.

Cite This Article

APA
McGahern AM, Edwards CJ, Bower MA, Heffernan A, Park SD, Brophy PO, Bradley DG, MacHugh DE, Hill EW. (2006). Mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity in extant Irish horse populations and in ancient horses. Anim Genet, 37(5), 498-502. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2052.2006.01506.x

Publication

Animal genetics
ISSN: 0268-9146
NlmUniqueID: 8605704
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 37
Issue: 5
Pages: 498-502

Researcher Affiliations

McGahern, A M
  • Animal Genomics Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Edwards, C J
    Bower, M A
      Heffernan, A
        Park, S D E
          Brophy, P O
            Bradley, D G
              MacHugh, D E
                Hill, E W

                  MeSH Terms

                  • Animals
                  • DNA, Mitochondrial / chemistry
                  • Fossils
                  • Genetic Variation
                  • Haplotypes
                  • Horses / genetics
                  • Ireland
                  • Phylogeny
                  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

                  Citations

                  This article has been cited 17 times.
                  1. Orazymbetova Z, Ualiyeva D, Dossybayev K, Torekhanov A, Sydykov D, Mussayeva A, Baktybayev G. Genetic Diversity of Kazakhstani Equus caballus (Linnaeus, 1758) Horse Breeds Inferred from Microsatellite Markers. Vet Sci 2023 Sep 30;10(10).
                    doi: 10.3390/vetsci10100598pubmed: 37888550google scholar: lookup
                  2. Kusliy MA, Yurlova AA, Neumestova AI, Vorobieva NV, Gutorova NV, Molodtseva AS, Trifonov VA, Popova KO, Polosmak NV, Molodin VI, Vasiliev SK, Semibratov VP, Iderkhangai TO, Kovalev AA, Erdenebaatar D, Graphodatsky AS, Tishkin AA. Genetic History of the Altai Breed Horses: From Ancient Times to Modernity. Genes (Basel) 2023 Jul 26;14(8).
                    doi: 10.3390/genes14081523pubmed: 37628575google scholar: lookup
                  3. Lindsay-McGee V, Sanchez-Molano E, Banos G, Clark EL, Piercy RJ, Psifidi A. Genetic characterisation of the Connemara pony and the Warmblood horse using a within-breed clustering approach. Genet Sel Evol 2023 Aug 17;55(1):60.
                    doi: 10.1186/s12711-023-00827-wpubmed: 37592264google scholar: lookup
                  4. Hong JH, Oh CS, Kim S, Kang IU, Shin DH. Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA from ancient Equus caballus bones found at archaeological site of Joseon dynasty period capital area. Anim Biosci 2022 Aug;35(8):1141-1150.
                    doi: 10.5713/ab.21.0500pubmed: 35240033google scholar: lookup
                  5. Dell AC, Curry MC, Yarnell KM, Starbuck GR, Wilson PB. Mitochondrial D-loop sequence variation and maternal lineage in the endangered Cleveland Bay horse. PLoS One 2020;15(12):e0243247.
                    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243247pubmed: 33270708google scholar: lookup
                  6. Dell A, Curry M, Yarnell K, Starbuck G, Wilson PB. Genetic analysis of the endangered Cleveland Bay horse: A century of breeding characterised by pedigree and microsatellite data. PLoS One 2020;15(10):e0240410.
                    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240410pubmed: 33119607google scholar: lookup
                  7. Liu C, Lei H, Ran X, Wang J. Genetic variation and selection in the major histocompatibility complex Class II gene in the Guizhou pony. PeerJ 2020;8:e9889.
                    doi: 10.7717/peerj.9889pubmed: 32999762google scholar: lookup
                  8. Winton CL, McMahon R, Hegarty MJ, McEwan NR, Davies-Morel MCG, Morgan C, Nash DM. Genetic diversity within and between British and Irish breeds: The maternal and paternal history of native ponies. Ecol Evol 2020 Feb;10(3):1352-1367.
                    doi: 10.1002/ece3.5989pubmed: 32076519google scholar: lookup
                  9. Khaudov AD, Duduev AS, Kokov ZA, Amshokov KK, Zhekamukhov MK, Zaitsev AM, Reissmann M. Genetic analysis of maternal and paternal lineages in Kabardian horses by uniparental molecular markers. Open Vet J 2018;8(1):40-46.
                    doi: 10.4314/ovj.v8i1.7pubmed: 29445620google scholar: lookup
                  10. Librado P, Der Sarkissian C, Ermini L, Schubert M, Jónsson H, Albrechtsen A, Fumagalli M, Yang MA, Gamba C, Seguin-Orlando A, Mortensen CD, Petersen B, Hoover CA, Lorente-Galdos B, Nedoluzhko A, Boulygina E, Tsygankova S, Neuditschko M, Jagannathan V, Thèves C, Alfarhan AH, Alquraishi SA, Al-Rasheid KA, Sicheritz-Ponten T, Popov R, Grigoriev S, Alekseev AN, Rubin EM, McCue M, Rieder S, Leeb T, Tikhonov A, Crubézy E, Slatkin M, Marques-Bonet T, Nielsen R, Willerslev E, Kantanen J, Prokhortchouk E, Orlando L. Tracking the origins of Yakutian horses and the genetic basis for their fast adaptation to subarctic environments. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015 Dec 15;112(50):E6889-97.
                    doi: 10.1073/pnas.1513696112pubmed: 26598656google scholar: lookup
                  11. Winton CL, Plante Y, Hind P, McMahon R, Hegarty MJ, McEwan NR, Davies-Morel MC, Morgan CM, Powell W, Nash DM. Comparative genetic diversity in a sample of pony breeds from the U.K. and North America: a case study in the conservation of global genetic resources. Ecol Evol 2015 Aug;5(16):3507-22.
                    doi: 10.1002/ece3.1562pubmed: 26380682google scholar: lookup
                  12. Takasu M, Ishihara N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Maeda M, Mukoyama H. Genetic diversity of maternal lineage in the endangered Kiso horse based on polymorphism of the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region. J Vet Med Sci 2014 Nov;76(11):1451-6.
                    doi: 10.1292/jvms.14-0231pubmed: 25056676google scholar: lookup
                  13. Devi KM, Ghosh SK. Molecular phylogeny of Indian horse breeds with special reference to Manipuri pony based on mitochondrial D-loop. Mol Biol Rep 2013 Oct;40(10):5861-7.
                    doi: 10.1007/s11033-013-2692-2pubmed: 24068432google scholar: lookup
                  14. Winton CL, Hegarty MJ, McMahon R, Slavov GT, McEwan NR, Davies-Morel MC, Morgan CM, Powell W, Nash DM. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of native mountain ponies of Britain and Ireland reveals a novel rare population. Ecol Evol 2013 Apr;3(4):934-47.
                    doi: 10.1002/ece3.507pubmed: 23610635google scholar: lookup
                  15. Bower MA, McGivney BA, Campana MG, Gu J, Andersson LS, Barrett E, Davis CR, Mikko S, Stock F, Voronkova V, Bradley DG, Fahey AG, Lindgren G, MacHugh DE, Sulimova G, Hill EW. The genetic origin and history of speed in the Thoroughbred racehorse. Nat Commun 2012 Jan 24;3:643.
                    doi: 10.1038/ncomms1644pubmed: 22273681google scholar: lookup
                  16. Lippold S, Knapp M, Kuznetsova T, Leonard JA, Benecke N, Ludwig A, Rasmussen M, Cooper A, Weinstock J, Willerslev E, Shapiro B, Hofreiter M. Discovery of lost diversity of paternal horse lineages using ancient DNA. Nat Commun 2011 Aug 23;2:450.
                    doi: 10.1038/ncomms1447pubmed: 21863017google scholar: lookup
                  17. Gurney SM, Schneider S, Pflugradt R, Barrett E, Forster AC, Brinkmann B, Jansen T, Forster P. Developing equine mtDNA profiling for forensic application. Int J Legal Med 2010 Nov;124(6):617-22.
                    doi: 10.1007/s00414-010-0506-9pubmed: 20830591google scholar: lookup
                  Subscribe to our newsletter
                  Join 99,928 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.