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  -