Dr Wallner and her colleagues began by selecting 17 horses from various European breeds.

After analysis of sequence regions spanning a 200 kb section of the Y chromosome in total, they were able with modern sequencing techniques to identify five variant positions, or polymorphic sites. It was this initial screen which led them to establish a set of six haplotypes, or basic lines, from which modern horses are derived. "From former studies we know that sequence variation on the horse Y chromosome is significantly lower than in other domestic species and humans, so six haplotypes in the initial screen was within the expected range," Dr Wallner related. "However, considering all of the haplotypes are just one mutational step apart from each other, the close relationship between them is remarkable."

Distribution of the six haplotypes found across Europe & America. HT1 = turquoise, HT2 = yellow, HT3 = red, HT4 = purple, HT5 = green, HT6 = pink

The researchers analysed the genetic data of a further 600 horses from 58 different breeds and found that they could indeed be grouped according to the six haplotypes, the distribution of which is illustrated in the figure. The wild Przewalski horse was included in the screen, providing a comparison of the variable sites in the domesticated horses with the Przewalski sequence and allowing the researchers to determine the ancestral state of each haplotype. They found that the ancestral Haplotype 1 (HT1) is the oldest, and is distributed across all geographical regions. The relationships between HT1 and the other five haplotypes as well as their distribution in modern horses provide a picture of the migration and importation of horses across Europe. "Our study has led us to the conclusion that the distribution of HT2 mirrors the movement of imported stallions from the Middle East which we term Original Arabians to Central Europe," said Dr Wallner. "Since Original Arabians also carried HT1 it is not possible to determine whether those HT1 carriers in Central Europe that have no pedigree information are of Arabian origin or autochthonous haplotypes." This is one question that could be addressed by future studies. The origin of other haplotypes is much clearer. The third haplotype arose very recently in the germline of the famous English Thoroughbred stallion Eclipse or in his son or grandson; all breeds that show HT3 have had introgression of that certain thoroughbred line. The final three variations HT4, HT5 and HT6

were found only in Norwegian Fjords, Icelandic horses and Shetland ponies. "We assume that the Central European horse population was overwhelmed, first with Y-chromosomal haplotypes from the Middle East, and subsequently by thoroughbreds (HT3)," Dr Wallner expanded. "Due to these waves of introgression, authochtonous haplotypes those that originated where they were found were displaced. However, the introgression of the Arabian and English thoroughbred did not reach the far north of Europe and therefore Norwegian and Icelandic horses and Shetland ponies were able to retain their original haplotypes." In humans, Y-chromosomal markers are useful tools in forensic applications. They are applicable for the itemisation of deep pedigrees, and they are used in paternity testing when no DNA sample from the father is available. In this study, they reflect the history of the horse as it exists today and can be used to trace its development over the centuries. Read more: http://www.scienceomega.com/article/1028/horsing-aroundmodern-stallions-closely-related#ixzz2QHitOs00