TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wutke, Saskia
A1  - Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson
A1  - Benecke, Norbert
A1  - Döhle, Hans-Jürgen
A1  - Friederich, Susanne
A1  - Gonzalez, Javier
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Lougas, Lembi
A1  - Magnell, Ola
A1  - Malaspinas, Anna-Sapfo
A1  - Morales-Muniz, Arturo
A1  - Orlando, Ludovic
A1  - Reissmann, Monika
A1  - Trinks, Alexandra
A1  - Ludwig, Arne
T1  - Decline of genetic diversity in ancient domestic stallions in Europe
JF  - Science Advances
N2  - Present-day domestic horses are immensely diverse in their maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, yet they show very little variation on their paternally inherited Y chromosome. Although it has recently been shown that Y chromosomal diversity in domestic horses was higher at least until the Iron Age, when and why this diversity disappeared remain controversial questions. We genotyped 16 recently discovered Y chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 96 ancient Eurasian stallions spanning the early domestication stages (Copper and Bronze Age) to the Middle Ages. Using this Y chromosomal time series, which covers nearly the entire history of horse domestication, we reveal how Y chromosomal diversity changed over time. Our results also show that the lack of multiple stallion lineages in the extant domestic population is caused by neither a founder effect nor random demographic effects but instead is the result of artificial selection-initially during the Iron Age by nomadic people from the Eurasian steppes and later during the Roman period. Moreover, the modern domestic haplotype probably derived from another, already advantageous, haplotype, most likely after the beginning of the domestication. In line with recent findings indicating that the Przewalski and domestic horse lineages remained connected by gene flow after they diverged about 45,000 years ago, we present evidence for Y chromosomal introgression of Przewalski horses into the gene pool of European domestic horses at least until medieval times.
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap9691
SN  - 2375-2548
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
PB  - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wutke, Saskia
A1  - Benecke, Norbert
A1  - Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson
A1  - Döhle, Hans-Jürgen
A1  - Friederich, Susanne
A1  - Gonzalez Soto, Javier Esteban
A1  - Hallsson, Jon Hallsteinn
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Lougas, Lembi
A1  - Magnell, Ola
A1  - Morales-Muniz, Arturo
A1  - Orlando, Ludovic
A1  - Palsdottir, Albina Hulda
A1  - Reissmann, Monika
A1  - Ruttkay, Matej
A1  - Trinks, Alexandra
A1  - Ludwig, Arne
T1  - Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages
JF  - Scientific reports
N2  - Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in similar to 3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38548
SN  - 2045-2322
VL  - 6
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Wutke, Saskia
A1  - Andersson, Leif
A1  - Benecke, Norbert
A1  - Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson
A1  - Gonzalez, Javier
A1  - Hallsson, Jon Hallsteinn
A1  - Lougas, Lembi
A1  - Magnell, Ola
A1  - Morales-Muniz, Arturo
A1  - Orlando, Ludovic
A1  - Palsdottir, Albina Hulda
A1  - Reissmann, Monika
A1  - Munoz-Rodriguez, Mariana B.
A1  - Ruttkay, Matej
A1  - Trinks, Alexandra
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Ludwig, Arne
T1  - The origin of ambling horses
T2  - Current biology
N2  - 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 (9th–11th 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.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.001
SN  - 0960-9822
SN  - 1879-0445
VL  - 26
SP  - R697
EP  - R699
PB  - Cell Press
CY  - Cambridge
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fages, Antoine
A1  - Hanghoj, Kristian
A1  - Khan, Naveed
A1  - Gaunitz, Charleen
A1  - Seguin-Orlando, Andaine
A1  - Leonardi, Michela
A1  - Constantz, Christian McCrory
A1  - Gamba, Cristina
A1  - Al-Rasheid, Khaled A. S.
A1  - Albizuri, Silvia
A1  - Alfarhan, Ahmed H.
A1  - Allentoft, Morten
A1  - Alquraishi, Saleh
A1  - Anthony, David
A1  - Baimukhanov, Nurbol
A1  - Barrett, James H.
A1  - Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav
A1  - Benecke, Norbert
A1  - Bernaldez-Sanchez, Eloisa
A1  - Berrocal-Rangel, Luis
A1  - Biglari, Fereidoun
A1  - Boessenkool, Sanne
A1  - Boldgiv, Bazartseren
A1  - Brem, Gottfried
A1  - Brown, Dorcas
A1  - Burger, Joachim
A1  - Crubezy, Eric
A1  - Daugnora, Linas
A1  - Davoudi, Hossein
A1  - Damgaard, Peter de Barros
A1  - de Chorro y de Villa-Ceballos, Maria de los Angeles
A1  - Deschler-Erb, Sabine
A1  - Detry, Cleia
A1  - Dill, Nadine
A1  - Oom, Maria do Mar
A1  - Dohr, Anna
A1  - Ellingvag, Sturla
A1  - Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav
A1  - Fathi, Homa
A1  - Felkel, Sabine
A1  - Fernandez-Rodriguez, Carlos
A1  - Garcia-Vinas, Esteban
A1  - Germonpre, Mietje
A1  - Granado, Jose D.
A1  - Hallsson, Jon H.
A1  - Hemmer, Helmut
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Kasparov, Aleksei
A1  - Khasanov, Mutalib
A1  - Khazaeli, Roya
A1  - Kosintsev, Pavel
A1  - Kristiansen, Kristian
A1  - Kubatbek, Tabaldiev
A1  - Kuderna, Lukas
A1  - Kuznetsov, Pavel
A1  - Laleh, Haeedeh
A1  - Leonard, Jennifer A.
A1  - Lhuillier, Johanna
A1  - von Lettow-Vorbeck, Corina Liesau
A1  - Logvin, Andrey
A1  - Lougas, Lembi
A1  - Ludwig, Arne
A1  - Luis, Cristina
A1  - Arruda, Ana Margarida
A1  - Marques-Bonet, Tomas
A1  - Silva, Raquel Matoso
A1  - Merz, Victor
A1  - Mijiddorj, Enkhbayar
A1  - Miller, Bryan K.
A1  - Monchalov, Oleg
A1  - Mohaseb, Fatemeh A.
A1  - Morales, Arturo
A1  - Nieto-Espinet, Ariadna
A1  - Nistelberger, Heidi
A1  - Onar, Vedat
A1  - Palsdottir, Albina H.
A1  - Pitulko, Vladimir
A1  - Pitskhelauri, Konstantin
A1  - Pruvost, Melanie
A1  - Sikanjic, Petra Rajic
A1  - Papesa, Anita Rapan
A1  - Roslyakova, Natalia
A1  - Sardari, Alireza
A1  - Sauer, Eberhard
A1  - Schafberg, Renate
A1  - Scheu, Amelie
A1  - Schibler, Jorg
A1  - Schlumbaum, Angela
A1  - Serrand, Nathalie
A1  - Serres-Armero, Aitor
A1  - Shapiro, Beth
A1  - Seno, Shiva Sheikhi
A1  - Shevnina, Irina
A1  - Shidrang, Sonia
A1  - Southon, John
A1  - Star, Bastiaan
A1  - Sykes, Naomi
A1  - Taheri, Kamal
A1  - Taylor, William
A1  - Teegen, Wolf-Rudiger
A1  - Vukicevic, Tajana Trbojevic
A1  - Trixl, Simon
A1  - Tumen, Dashzeveg
A1  - Undrakhbold, Sainbileg
A1  - Usmanova, Emma
A1  - Vahdati, Ali
A1  - Valenzuela-Lamas, Silvia
A1  - Viegas, Catarina
A1  - Wallner, Barbara
A1  - Weinstock, Jaco
A1  - Zaibert, Victor
A1  - Clavel, Benoit
A1  - Lepetz, Sebastien
A1  - Mashkour, Marjan
A1  - Helgason, Agnar
A1  - Stefansson, Kari
A1  - Barrey, Eric
A1  - Willerslev, Eske
A1  - Outram, Alan K.
A1  - Librado, Pablo
A1  - Orlando, Ludovic
T1  - Tracking five millennia of horse management with extensive ancient genome time series
JF  - Cell
N2  - Horse domestication revolutionized warfare and accelerated travel, trade, and the geographic expansion of languages. Here, we present the largest DNA time series for a non-human organism to date, including genome-scale data from 149 ancient animals and 129 ancient genomes (>= 1-fold coverage), 87 of which are new. This extensive dataset allows us to assess the modem legacy of past equestrian civilisations. We find that two extinct horse lineages existed during early domestication, one at the far western (Iberia) and the other at the far eastern range (Siberia) of Eurasia. None of these contributed significantly to modern diversity. We show that the influence of Persian-related horse lineages increased following the Islamic conquests in Europe and Asia. Multiple alleles associated with elite-racing, including at the MSTN "speed gene," only rose in popularity within the last millennium. Finally, the development of modem breeding impacted genetic diversity more dramatically than the previous millennia of human management.
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.049
SN  - 0092-8674
SN  - 1097-4172
VL  - 177
IS  - 6
SP  - 1419
EP  - 1435
PB  - Cell Press
CY  - Cambridge
ER  -