GENOTYPING AND COAT COLOUR DETECTION OF ANCIENT HORSES FROM BURYATIA

Area of Science:

• * Paleogenetics and Animal Genetics: Investigating the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of domestic animals.
• * Archaeogenetics: Utilizing ancient DNA to reconstruct past populations and domestication processes.

Background:

• * Understanding horse domestication involves analyzing genetic markers and phenotypic traits.
• * Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear loci are crucial for phylogeographic and domestication studies.
• * Artificial selection has led to a wide array of coat colors in modern domestic horses.

Observation:

• * Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA from six ancient Buryat horses (1st century BC–1st century AD) was performed.
• * Ancient horses were assigned to haplogroup E (Achilli classification), also found in modern Italian Maremmano horses.
• * Two ancient horses exhibited gray coat color, deviating from the wild type, suggesting advanced domestication.

Findings:

• * Ancient Buryat horses belong to haplotype X3 (Cieslak classification), identified via mtDNA hypervariable region analysis.
• * This haplotype is ancestral to modern horse haplogroup X3 found in Mongolia, Tuva, and Buryatia.
• * Genetic data indicates a high level of domestication in ancient Buryat horses.

Implications:

• * The study reconstructs genetic differences between ancient and modern horses using phylogeographic analysis.
• * Findings contribute to understanding the domestication history and geographic spread of horse populations.
• * Identified genetic links provide insights into ancient horse trade and selective breeding practices.