Genomic Insights into Post‐Domestication Expansion and Selection of Body Size in Ponies
Horse domestication revolutionizes human civilization by transforming transportation, agriculture, and warfare patterns. Despite extensive studies on modern domestic horse origins, the intricate demographic history and genetic signatures underlying pony size remain unexplored. Here, a high-quality genome assembly of the Chinese Debao pony is presented, and 452 qualified individuals from 64 horse breeds worldwide are extensively analyzed. The authors' results reveal the conservation of ancient components in East Asian horses and close relationships between Asian horses and Western pony lineages. Genetic analyses suggest an Asian paternal origin for European pony breeds. These pony-sized horses share close genetic affinities, potentially attributed to their early expansion and adaptation to local environments. In addition, promising cis-regulatory elements influencing horse withers height by regulating genes such as RFLNA and FOXO1 are identified. Overall, this study provides insightful perspectives on the dispersal history and genetic determinants underlying body size in ponies, offering broader implications for horse population management and improvement.
Authors
- Lingzhao Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1103-3679)
- Shuwei Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4186-6882)
- Guoqiang Yi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8248-9126)
- Md. Panir Choudhury (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7094-4469)
- Hai Xiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8866-7931)
- X Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4756-4068)
- Yuying Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6230-7436)
- Sang He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0832-3472)
- Binhu Wang
- Shaohua Teng
- Jicai Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6890-7539)
- Xintong Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7612-614X)
- Lei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-0678)
- Zihao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5242-1910)
- Zhen Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5509-0264)
- Min Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4554-7337)
- Pengxiang Yuan
- Xiaolu Qu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1166-2021)
- Zhonglin Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5635-4746)
- Jing Yan
- Kai Zhan
- Pengju Zhao
- Qi Bao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0729-0277)
- H. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2467-5331)
Institutions
- North Carolina State University (US)
- Foshan University (CN)
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (CN)
- Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202413023
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.45
Funders
- Guangxi Key Research and Development Program