Abstract
Genetic studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have identified extensive matrilinear diversity among domestic horses. Here, we show that this high degree of polymorphism is not matched by a corresponding patrilinear diversity of the male-specific Y chromosome. In fact, a screening for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 14.3 kb of noncoding Y chromosome sequence among 52 male horses of 15 different breeds did not identify a single segregation site. These observations are consistent with a strong sex-bias in the domestication process, with few stallions contributing genetically to the domestic horse.
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Acknowledgements
We thank L. Skow for access to the BAC library; M. Webster, J. Seddon and A. Eriksson for help and discussion; and M. Oom, L. Firouz and A. Tawatsin for help with samples. Financial support was obtained from the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning. H.E. is a Royal Academy of Sciences Research fellow supported by a grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation.
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Lindgren, G., Backström, N., Swinburne, J. et al. Limited number of patrilines in horse domestication. Nat Genet 36, 335–336 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1326
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1326
