Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages

Saskia Wutke; Norbert Benecke; Edson Sandoval-Castellanos; Hans-Jürgen Döhle; Susanne Friederich; Javier Gonzalez; Jón Hallsteinn Hallsson; Michael Hofreiter; Lembi Lõugas; Ola Magnell; Arturo Morales-Muniz; Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando; Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir; Monika Reissmann; Matej Ruttkay; Alexandra Trinks; Arne Ludwig

doi:10.1038/srep38548

Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages

Saskia Wutke, Norbert Benecke, Edson Sandoval-Castellanos, Hans-Jürgen Döhle, Susanne Friederich, Javier Gonzalez, Jón Hallsteinn Hallsson, Michael Hofreiter, Lembi Lõugas, Ola Magnell, Arturo Morales-Muniz, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando, Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir, Monika Reissmann, Matej Ruttkay, Alexandra Trinks, Arne Ludwig

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Abstract

Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.

Original language	English
Article number	38548
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	6
Number of pages	9
ISSN	2045-2322
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38548
Publication status	Published - 7 Dec 2016

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Wutke, S., Benecke, N., Sandoval-Castellanos, E., Döhle, H-J., Friederich, S., Gonzalez, J., Hallsson, J. H., Hofreiter, M., Lõugas, L., Magnell, O., Morales-Muniz, A., Orlando, L. A. A., Pálsdóttir, A. H., Reissmann, M., Ruttkay, M., Trinks, A., & Ludwig, A. (2016). Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages. Scientific Reports, 6, [38548]. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38548

Wutke, S, Benecke, N, Sandoval-Castellanos, E, Döhle, H-J, Friederich, S, Gonzalez, J, Hallsson, JH, Hofreiter, M, Lõugas, L, Magnell, O, Morales-Muniz, A, Orlando, LAA, Pálsdóttir, AH, Reissmann, M, Ruttkay, M, Trinks, A & Ludwig, A 2016, 'Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, 38548. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38548

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title = "Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages",

abstract = "Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.",

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AU - Wutke, Saskia

AU - Benecke, Norbert

AU - Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson

AU - Döhle, Hans-Jürgen

AU - Friederich, Susanne

AU - Gonzalez, Javier

AU - Hallsson, Jón Hallsteinn

AU - Hofreiter, Michael

AU - Lõugas, Lembi

AU - Magnell, Ola

AU - Morales-Muniz, Arturo

AU - Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre

AU - Pálsdóttir, Albína Hulda

AU - Reissmann, Monika

AU - Ruttkay, Matej

AU - Trinks, Alexandra

AU - Ludwig, Arne

PY - 2016/12/7

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N2 - Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.

AB - Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.

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SN - 2045-2322

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ER -

Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages

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