The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice Age

Résumé fourni par la source

Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas. Horses have lived in Iberia since the Ice Age. Using ancient genomes to study their history, Lira Garrido et al. reveal a local wild lineage lasting until Late Iron Age, and highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and beyond.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.