The origin of ambling horses.
Abstract: Horseback riding is the most fundamental use of domestic horses and has had a huge influence on the development of human societies for millennia. Over time, riding techniques and the style of riding improved. Therefore, horses with the ability to perform comfortable gaits (e.g. ambling or pacing), so-called 'gaited' horses, have been highly valued by humans, especially for long distance travel. Recently, the causative mutation for gaitedness in horses has been linked to a substitution causing a premature stop codon in the DMRT3 gene (DMRT3_Ser301STOP) [1]. In mice, Dmrt3 is expressed in spinal cord interneurons and plays an important role in the development of limb movement coordination [1]. Genotyping the position in 4396 modern horses from 141 breeds revealed that nowadays the mutated allele is distributed worldwide with an especially high frequency in gaited horses and breeds used for harness racing [2]. Here, we examine historic horse remains for the DMRT3 SNP, tracking the origin of gaitedness to Medieval England between 850 and 900 AD. The presence of the corresponding allele in Icelandic horses (9(th)-11(th) century) strongly suggests that ambling horses were brought from the British Isles to Iceland by Norse people. Considering the high frequency of the ambling allele in early Icelandic horses, we believe that Norse settlers selected for this comfortable mode of horse riding soon after arrival. The absence of the allele in samples from continental Europe (including Scandinavia) at this time implies that ambling horses may have spread from Iceland and maybe also the British Isles across the continent at a later date.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2016-08-10 PubMed ID: 27505236DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.001Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Historical Article
- Letter
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research studies the origin of ‘gaited’ horses, particularly those that exhibit ambling or pacing gaits which are comfortable for long-distance riding. The genetic cause behind this trait is traced back to Medieval England, between 850 and 900 AD, and this mutation is found to have spread worldwide due to its usefulness in horse breeds, especially in long-distance travel and harness racing.
Gene Mutation and Gaited Horses
- The trait for ‘gaitedness’ in horses – the ability to perform comfortable gaits like ambling or pacing – is attributed to a mutation causing a premature stop codon in the DMRT3 gene (DMRT3_Ser301STOP).
- Gaited horses are of high value due to the comfortable movement for long-distance travel and are used extensively in harness racing.
- The study involved genotyping 4396 modern horses from 141 breeds, and it was observed that the mutated allele has a worldwide distribution, with a particularly high frequency in gaited horses.
Historical Origin of Gaitedness
- By examining historical horse remains, the research traces the origin of this gene mutation and thus, gaitedness, to Medieval England, between the years 850 and 900 AD.
- The findings suggest that horses with this trait were taken by Norse settlers from the British Isles to Iceland between the 9th and 11th centuries.
Spread of the Gaitedness Trait
- The presence of the allele in early Icelandic horses indicates that Norse settlers probably selected this trait for more comfortable horse riding upon their arrival in Iceland.
- However, the absence of this allele in samples from continental Europe (including Scandinavia) during the same period suggests that ambling horses may have spread from Iceland and possibly the British Isles to the rest of the continent at a later date.
The research sheds light on the historical proliferation of the comfortable ambling trait in horses, driven by human need for more comfortable long-distance travel, starting from Medieval England to the rest of the world.
Cite This Article
APA
Wutke S, Andersson L, Benecke N, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Gonzalez J, Hallsson JH, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Morales-Muniz A, Orlando L, Pálsdóttir AH, Reissmann M, Muñoz-Rodríguez MB, Ruttkay M, Trinks A, Hofreiter M, Ludwig A.
(2016).
The origin of ambling horses.
Curr Biol, 26(15), R697-R699.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.001 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
- German Archaeological Institute, Department of Natural Sciences, Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
- University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
- The Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Land and Animal Resources, IS-112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Archaeological Research Collection, Tallinn University, Rüütli 10, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia.
- National Historical Museums, Contract Archaeology, 226 60 Lund, Sweden.
- Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Laboratory of Archaeozoology, Madrid, Spain.
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, 1350K Copenhagen, Denmark.
- The Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Land and Animal Resources, IS-112 Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Humboldt University Berlin, Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
- Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic.
- University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
- University of Potsdam, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany. Electronic address: michi@palaeo.eu.
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: ludwig@izw-berlin.de.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- DNA Mutational Analysis
- DNA, Ancient / analysis
- England
- Gait / genetics
- Gene Frequency
- Genotype
- History, Medieval
- Horses / genetics
- Horses / physiology
- Iceland
- Transcription Factors / genetics
- Transcription Factors / history
- Transcription Factors / metabolism
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Ding J, Gu B, Meng J, Hu M, Wang W, Liu J. Response of serum biochemical profile, antioxidant enzymes, and gut microbiota to dietary Hong-bailanshen supplementation in horses. Front Microbiol 2024;15:1327210.
- Vincelette A. The Characteristics, Distribution, Function, and Origin of Alternative Lateral Horse Gaits. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 8;13(16).
- Kvist L, Honka J, Niskanen M, Liedes O, Aspi J. Selection in the Finnhorse, a native all-around horse breed. J Anim Breed Genet 2021 Mar;138(2):188-203.
- Serra Bragança FM, Broomé S, Rhodin M, Björnsdóttir S, Gunnarsson V, Voskamp JP, Persson-Sjodin E, Back W, Lindgren G, Novoa-Bravo M, Gmel AI, Roepstorff C, van der Zwaag BJ, Van Weeren PR, Hernlund E. Improving gait classification in horses by using inertial measurement unit (IMU) generated data and machine learning. Sci Rep 2020 Oct 20;10(1):17785.
- Frantz LAF, Bradley DG, Larson G, Orlando L. Animal domestication in the era of ancient genomics. Nat Rev Genet 2020 Aug;21(8):449-460.
- Wutke S, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Benecke N, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Malaspinas AS, Morales-Muñiz A, Orlando L, Reissmann M, Trinks A, Ludwig A. Decline of genetic diversity in ancient domestic stallions in Europe. Sci Adv 2018 Apr;4(4):eaap9691.
- Wutke S, Benecke N, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hallsson JH, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Morales-Muniz A, Orlando L, Pálsdóttir AH, Reissmann M, Ruttkay M, Trinks A, Ludwig A. Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages. Sci Rep 2016 Dec 7;6:38548.
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