New Evidences on Domestication of the Horse (Equus Ferus Caballus) and Origine of Domestic Mountain Pony

Abstract

The results of draft genome research of permafrost horse bone dated approximately 560-780 (kyr BP) have been published recently. According to the data representing the oldest full genome sequence compared to the modern genomes of domesticated horse, Przewalskii and donkey it was suggested that the Equus lineage gave rise to contemporary horses, zebras and donkeys some 4.0 to 4.5 million years ago, twice increasing the assumed time to the common ancestor. Upon the phylogenetic and divergence analyses it was estimated that the Przewalskii and domestic horse populations diverged some 38-72 kyr BP and that there are no evidences that admixtures between Przewalskii and domestic horse populations occurred post-divergently thus Przewalskii’s involvement in the process of horse domestication has been excluded. The new data on ancient equide genome question the conventional theory on the origin of Domestic mountain pony. Upon the protein variability of the Domestic mountain pony the influence of diluvial genome on the population was confirmed and this finding differed from the conventional theory stating E. f. Przewalskii and E. ferus caballus as ancestors of the autochthonous population. The role of different ancestral horses in evolution of our autochthonous population is therefore unclear. The questions emerging from the most recent genetic and proteomic research in concern with the autochthonous populations are presented in the paper.