title: An Overview of Ten Italian Horse Breeds through Mitochondrial DNA.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The climatic and cultural diversity of the Italian Peninsula triggered, over time, the development of a great variety of horse breeds, whose origin and history are still unclear. To clarify this issue, analyses on phenotypic traits and genealogical data were recently coupled with molecular screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  To provide a comprehensive overview of the horse genetic variability in Italy, we produced and phylogenetically analyzed 407 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences from ten of the most important Italian riding horse and pony breeds: Bardigiano, Esperia, Giara, Lipizzan, Maremmano, Monterufolino, Murgese, Sarcidano, Sardinian Anglo-Arab, and Tolfetano. A collection of 36 Arabian horses was also evaluated to assess the genetic consequences of their common use for the improvement of some local breeds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Italian horses, all previously described domestic mtDNA haplogroups were detected as well as a high haplotype diversity. These findings indicate that the ancestral local mares harbored an extensive genetic diversity. Moreover, the limited haplotype sharing (11%) with the Arabian horse reveals that its impact on the autochthonous mitochondrial gene pools during the final establishment of pure breeds was marginal, if any. The only significant signs of genetic structure and differentiation were detected in the geographically most isolated contexts (i.e. Monterufolino and Sardinian breeds). Such a geographic effect was also confirmed in a wider breed setting, where the Italian pool stands in an intermediate position together with most of the other Mediterranean stocks. However, some notable exceptions and peculiar genetic proximities lend genetic support to historical theories about the origin of specific Italian breeds.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cardinali
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Hovirag
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lancioni
authors.affiliation: Centro di Studio del Cavallo Sportivo, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giontella
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "L. Spallanzani", Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco Rosario
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Capodiferro
authors.affiliation: Centro di Studio del Cavallo Sportivo, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capomaccio
authors.affiliation: Centro di ricerca per la produzione delle carni e il miglioramento genetico, Sede centrale-Monterotondo, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Buttazzoni
authors.affiliation: Agenzia per la ricerca in agricoltura-AGRIS Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Biggio
authors.affiliation: Agenzia per la ricerca in agricoltura-AGRIS Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cherchi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Emidio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "L. Spallanzani", Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.affiliation: Centro di Studio del Cavallo Sportivo, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cappelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.|Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "L. Spallanzani", Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Achilli
authors.affiliation: Centro di Studio del Cavallo Sportivo, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silvestrelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002980:Climate; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial