Ayala, Nikole M.

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    Assessing origin and genetic diversity through maternal lineages and "Gait Keeper" (DMRT3) frequency of Puerto Rican horses
    (2016) Ayala, Nikole M.; Oleksyk, Taras K.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan C.; Figueroa, Luis; Department of Biology; Torres Saavedra, Pedro A.
    Since their domestication, horses demonstrated their usefulness for transportation, warfare, agriculture, sports and even companionship, earning a central role in human history. Over the centuries, horse breeds have been established by selective breeding for desirable traits such as endurance and strength, one example is the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino, selected for their natural ambling gait characterized by smooth isochronal four beat lateral step. In order to understand the genetic ancestry and diversity of current Puerto Rican horse population, which includes both Puerto Rican Paso Finos (PRPF) and non-purebreds (NPB), we sequenced a 668bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA D-loop (HVR1) in 199 horses: 38 PRPF and 161 NPB. A total of 11 haplogroups were found. Haplogroup X2 had the highest frequency (40.70%), followed by haplogroups D3 (21.11%) and D2 (10.05%). The high frequency of the haplogroup X2 in Puerto Rican horses supports the historical record pointing to the mostly Iberian origin for these breeds. Both PRPF and NPB populations show a relatively high haplotype diversity, which coincides with what is observed on other breeds with Iberian origin. Also, since the PRPF has been under selective breeding for its unique gait, it should have high frequency of the DMRT3_Ser301STOP mutation associated with “gaitedness”. As expected, all 100% of the PRPF horses had the mutation. However, 99.3% of the NPB also showed its presence. This is a high frequency when compared to other “non-pure bred horses in the Americas, and points to the “Criollo” horses as the possible ancestral stock for the selective breeding of the prized Puerto Rican Paso Fino. This data adds valuable information that can be of use for maintaining and even increasing genetic diversity among Paso Fino horses due to constant interbreeding and give extra value for the on growing non-purebred population, which sadly many times is disregarded by the island locals.