McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Biol Lett. 2011 Apr 23;7(2):316-20. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0800. Epub 2010 Oct 6.
The paternal origins of Thoroughbred racehorses trace back to a handful of Middle Eastern stallions, imported to the British Isles during the seventeenth century. Yet, few details of the foundation mares were recorded, in many cases not even their names (several different maternal lineages trace back to 'A Royal Mare'). This has fuelled intense speculation over their origins. We examined mitochondrial DNA from 1929 horses to determine the origin of Thoroughbred foundation mares. There is no evidence to support exclusive Arab maternal origins as some historical records have suggested, or a significant importation of Oriental mares (the term used in historic records to refer to Middle East and western Asian breeds including Arab, Akhal-Teke, Barb and Caspian). Instead, we show that Thoroughbred foundation mares had a cosmopolitan European heritage with a far greater contribution from British and Irish Native mares than previously recognized.
纯血赛马的父系起源可以追溯到少数中东种马，这些种马在 17 世纪被引入不列颠群岛。然而，基础母马的详细信息记录很少，在许多情况下甚至没有它们的名字（几个不同的母系血统都可以追溯到'皇家母马'）。这引发了对它们起源的激烈猜测。我们检查了 1929 年马匹的线粒体 DNA，以确定纯血赛马基础母马的起源。没有证据支持一些历史记录所暗示的纯阿拉伯母系起源，也没有证据支持东方母马的大量引进（在历史记录中，该术语用于指代包括阿拉伯马、阿克哈-塔克马、巴巴里马和里海马在内的中东和西亚品种）。相反，我们表明，纯血赛马基础母马具有世界性的欧洲血统，英国和爱尔兰本土母马的贡献远远大于以前所认识到的。
