Horse DNA Analysis: The Impact of Domestication on Civilization
Horse DNA analysis has unveiled groundbreaking insights into how the domestication of horses transformed human civilization. Researchers have identified genetic changes that turned ancient wild horses into the domesticated champions we know today. This pivotal shift, occurring around 5,500 years ago, played a crucial role in the development of societies.
On Monday, researchers reported that using DNA analysis, scientists have discovered that by identifying genetic changes, it helped turn ancient horses like those in the prehistoric era into winning horses and champions. And based on the study, horse domestication was first made 5,500 years ago.
Based on the horse DNA analysis study, researchers have found the DNA that makes a winning and champion racehorse. According to The Daily Mail, scientists said the domestication and the development of the racehorse were all made possible by 125 genes. It produced desirable traits related to skeletal muscles, balance, coordination, and cardiac strength.
Evolutionary geneticists have long wished to understand the genetic changes involved in equine domestication. They have been eager to know horses' genetic makeup through DNA analysis because of the significant role taming wild horses played in the development of civilization, ABC reported.
In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the traits that made horses domesticated were all made possible by 125 genes.
"These genes could have been the key for turning wild animals into more docile domesticated forms," Natural History Museum of Denmark geneticist Ludovic Orlando, who led the study, stated.
The horse DNA analysis that resulted in its domestication fundamentally revolutionized human civilization and societies. NBC News reported domesticated horses facilitated transportation in addition to the circulation of ideas, languages, and religions. It also transformed warfare with the introduction of chariotry and mounted cavalry. Beyond the battlefield, horses notably stimulated agriculture.
The team of researchers led by Orlando examined DNA from 29 horses and discovered some genes in today's horses were absent altogether from the ancient ones, showing they emerged from recent mutations, among them a short-distance "speed gene."
The finding of the DNA analysis basis for horse domestication was a long time coming because no wild descendants of ancient breeds survive. By matching domesticated species to their wild relatives, scientists figured out how organisms as different as rice, tomatoes, and dogs became domesticated.
However, the DNA analysis study on the domestication of the horse and the subsequent intrusion of human civilization also resulted in the near extinction of wild horses. As an aftereffect of this huge loss of genetic diversity, the consequences of horse domestication through time have been difficult to decipher on a molecular level.
Originally Posted By Jobs & Hire