Geneticists, paleontologists, and archeologists reported the discovery of the mare that produced all the modern known horse breeds in an article at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences web site on January 30, 2012.
The common ancestor of all of today’s horse breeds lived 130,000 and 160,000 years ago (most probably 140,000 years ago).
The analysis of modern horses and horse fossils was developed analysis of 83 mitochondrial genomes (female inheritance only) from horses across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
The definition of 18 major genetic clusters called haplogroups that are each defined by specific mutations helped to positively identify the original mother of all horses as a mare that lived ancestral mare around 140,000 years ago.
The researchers also discovered that horse domestication was much more widely disbursed across Eurasia than the domestication of cattle and other common farm animals.
The researchers suggest their discovery can be used to redefine the breed stocks in present day horses and potentially offer new and better horses for particular work or sports.
Paper
Mitochondrial genomes from modern horses reveal the major haplogroups that underwent domestication
Authors
Alessandro Achillia,1, Anna Olivierib, Pedro Soaresc, Hovirag Lancionia, Baharak Hooshiar Kashanib, Ugo A. Peregob,d, Solomon G. Nergadzeb, Valeria Carossab, Marco Santagostinob, Stefano Capomaccioe, Michela Felicettie, Walid Al-Achkarf, M. Cecilia T. Penedog, Andrea Verini-Supplizie, Massoud Houshmandh, Scott R. Woodwardd, Ornella Seminob, Maurizio Silvestrellie, Elena Giulottob, Luísa Pereirac,i, Hans-Jürgen Bandeltj, and Antonio Torronib,1
aDipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e Ambientale, Università di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy; bDipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "L. Spallanzani", Università di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy; cInstituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; dSorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, Salt Lake City, UT 84115; eCentro di Studio del Cavallo Sportivo, Dipartimento di Patologia, Diagnostica e Clinica Veterinaria, Università di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy; fDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Atomic Energy Commission, 6091 Damascus, Syria; gVeterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; hDepartment of Medical Genetics, National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), 14965/161 Tehran, Iran; iFaculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; and jDepartment of Mathematics, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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