Genet. Sel. Evol. 39 (2007) 609-619
DOI: 10.1051/gse:2007025

A new view on dam lines in Polish Arabian horses based on mtDNA analysis

Iwona Glazewska^a, Anna Wysocka^a, Barbara Gralak^b, Renata Prus^a and Jerzy Sell<sup>a

a</sup>  Department of Genetics and Cytology, University of Gdansk, Kladki 24, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland
^b  Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Jastrzebiec, 05-552 Wólka Kosowska, Poland

(Received 5 December 2006; accepted 9 March 2007; published online 27 September 2007)

Abstract - Polish Arabian horses are one of the oldest and the most important Arab populations in the world. The Polish Arabian Stud Book and the Genealogical Charts by Skorkowski are the main sources of information on the ancestors of Polish Arabs. Both publications were viewed as credible sources of information until the 1990s when the data regarding one of the dam lines was questioned. The aim of the current study was to check the accuracy of the pedigree data of Polish dam lines using mtDNA analysis. The analyses of a 458 bp mtDNA D-loop fragment from representatives of 15 Polish Arabian dam lines revealed 14 distinct haplotypes. The results were inconsistent with pedigree data in the case of two lines. A detailed analysis of the historical sources was performed to explain these discrepancies. Our study revealed that representatives of different lines shared the same haplotypes. We also noted a genetic identity between some lines founded by Polish mares of unknown origin and lines established by desert-bred mares.

Key words: mitochondrial DNA / horse / pedigree / phylogeny

Correspondence and reprints: glazew@biotech.ug.gda.pl

© INRA, EDP Sciences 2007