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Science 19 January 2001:
Vol. 291. no. 5503, pp. 474 - 477
DOI: 10.1126/science.291.5503.474
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Reports

Widespread Origins of Domestic Horse Lineages

Carles Vilà,1* Jennifer A. Leonard,2 Anders Götherström,3 Stefan Marklund,4 Kaj Sandberg,4 Kerstin Lidén,3 Robert K. Wayne,2 Hans Ellegren1

Domestication entails control of wild species and is generally regarded as a complex process confined to a restricted area and culture. Previous DNA sequence analyses of several domestic species have suggested only a limited number of origination events. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences of 191 domestic horses and found a high diversity of matrilines. Sequence analysis of equids from archaeological sites and late Pleistocene deposits showed that this diversity was not due to an accelerated mutation rate or an ancient domestication event. Consequently, high mtDNA sequence diversity of horses implies an unprecedented and widespread integration of matrilines and an extensive utilization and taming of wild horses. However, genetic variation at nuclear markers is partitioned among horse breeds and may reflect sex-biased dispersal and breeding.

1 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, S-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
2 Department of Organismic Biology, Ecology and Evolution, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
3 Archeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
4 Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: carles.vila{at}ebc.uu.se

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