 | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
| Author |
Message |
blackvault
Site Admin
Joined: Sep 10, 2001
Posts: 3660
Location: USA
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2002 2:57 am Post subject: Scientists Trace Roots of Domestic Horse |
 |
|
| |
DNA evidence proves that horses descend from several different wild populations, contrary to previous theories. The genes of at least 77 wild mares are responsible for modern-day horse breeds all the way from the American mustang to the Shetland pony.
The BBC reported, \"We see traces of original wild populations of horses that have been incorporated into the domestic horses of today,\" says co-researcher Dr Peter Forster of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK. \"The genetic evidence shows that wild horses were recruited for domestication from different areas of the world. A single, simple origin of horse domestication can be ruled out.\"
The discovery is especially startling, because it is contrary to the origin of other domestic animals, including cattle, goats and sheep that originated from a more limited population. The determination is founded on the genetic analysis of more than 300 horses from 25 different horse breeds and varieties in seven countries including Europe and the USA.
The DNA samples were compared to the DNA of ancient wild horses living in Sweden and Estonia approximately 2,000 years ago, and the DNA of a 28,000-year-old horse cadaver preserved in Alaskan ice. The rate of mitochondrial DNA mutation is established using a standard laboratory technique.
The genetic material is located outside of the cell\'s nucleus, and is passed only from mother to child. It accrues mutations at a rate, serving as a \"molecular clock\" that allows the maternal ancestry of a species to be traced. The meager fossil record of the horse family has limited the ability to pinpoint when this took place.
The first clear evidence of the domestication of horses dates back to 2,000 B.C. when horses were buried with chariots, reported the BBC. Domestication spread through Europe, Asia and North Africa by 1,000 B.C. However, the debate extends to some experts\' belief that horses were domesticated as far back as 4,500-2,500 B.C. on the Eurasian Steppes in the Near East.
Source: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK; BBC
http://www3.cosmiverse.com/news/science/0702/science07170204.html
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| | | | | | | |
| |
blocks-left.jpg
blocks-left.jpg
blocks-left.jpg
|  |
Online Stats: 
