Genomic comparisons of Persian Kurdish, Persian Arabian and American Thoroughbred horse populations.
Authors: Yousefi-Mashouf Navid, Mehrabani-Yeganeh Hassan, Nejati-Javaremi Ardeshir, Bailey Ernest, Petersen Jessica L
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary Researchers used genome-wide SNP genotyping to characterise the genetic structure of the Persian Kurdish horse breed relative to Persian Arabian and American Thoroughbred populations, analysing 670,796 markers across 179 horses (52 Kurdish, 24 Persian Arabian, and 58 Thoroughbred after quality control). Principal component and cluster analyses revealed that Kurdish and Thoroughbred horses occupy distinct genetic positions, whilst Persian Arabians show evidence of shared ancestry or recent admixture with the Kurdish population—a finding reflected in the relatively low FST value (0.013) between these two Persian breeds compared to their respective distances from Thoroughbreds (FST values of 0.052 and 0.057). Notably, Kurdish horses demonstrated the highest genetic diversity (expected heterozygosity of 0.342), exceeding both Persian Arabians (0.328) and Thoroughbreds (0.326), with runs of homozygosity analysis corroborating this advantage in both Persian breeds. For practitioners involved in breeding programmes and conservation efforts, these results suggest that Persian Kurdish horses represent a genetically distinct and diverse resource; breeders and stud managers can leverage this baseline genetic characterisation when developing selective breeding strategies that balance performance and phenotypic goals against the critical imperative of maintaining population diversity—particularly important for rare or locally adapted breeds facing potential genetic erosion.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Kurdish and Persian Arabian horses represent genetically distinct and diverse populations suitable for selective breeding programs without risk of rapid inbreeding depression
- •The closer genetic relationship between Kurdish and Persian Arabian breeds suggests potential benefits from strategic crossbreeding while maintaining separate breed characteristics
- •Conservation efforts should prioritize maintaining the higher genetic diversity present in Kurdish and Persian Arabian populations compared to the more genetically uniform Thoroughbred
Key Findings
- •Kurdish horses showed highest genetic diversity (expected heterozygosity 0.342) compared to Persian Arabian (0.328) and Thoroughbred (0.326) populations
- •Pairwise FST between Kurdish and Thoroughbred (0.052) was approximately 4-fold greater than between the two Persian breeds (0.013), indicating closer genetic relatedness between Persian Kurdish and Persian Arabian horses
- •Principal component and cluster analyses clearly distinguished Kurdish and Thoroughbred populations into separate genetic clusters, while Persian Arabian showed shared ancestry with Kurdish horses
- •4.47% of total genetic variation existed among the three populations (P<0.001), with greater within-breed diversity in Kurdish and Persian Arabian than Thoroughbred horses