The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice Age

作者：Jaime Lira Garrido, Gaétan Tressières, Loreleï Chauvey, Stéphanie Schiavinato, Laure Tonasso‐Calvière, Andaine Seguin‐Orlando, John Southon, Beth Shapiro, Clément P. Bataille, Julie Birgel, Stefanie Wagner, Naveed Khan, Xuexue Liu, José María Rodanés Vicente, Jesús Vicente Picazo Millán, Josep Giralt, Natàlia Alonso, Isidro Aguilera, Adriano Orsingher, Angela Trentacoste, Xavier Payà, Marta Morán, María Pilar Iborra Eres, Silvia Albizuri, Sílvia Valenzuela, Imma Mestres Santandreu, Montserrat Durán i Caixal, Jordí Principal, Jordi Huguet, Xavier Esteve, Mireia Pedro Pasqual, Nohemi Sala, Adrián Pablos, Patricia Martín, Josep María Vergès, Rodrigo Portero, Pablo Arias Cabal, Roberto Ontañón Peredo, Cleia Detry, Cristina Luı́s, João Luís Cardoso, Aren M. Maeir, Maria João Valente, Elena Grau, Vicent Estall I Poles, Joaquín Alfonso Llorens, Ana Miguélez González, Armelle Gardeisen, Michele Cupitò, U. Tecchiati, Daniel G. Bradley, Liora Kolska Horwitz, Esther Rodríguez González, Ariadna Nieto‐Espinet, Pere Rosselló Bover, Rosa Ruiz Entrecanales, Ignasi Garcés Estallo, Joaquín Jiménez Fragoso, Sebastián Celestino, Ludovic Orlando · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-025-62266-z · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Genetic diversity and population structure、Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock、Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas. Horses have lived in Iberia since the Ice Age. Using ancient genomes to study their history, Lira Garrido et al. reveal a local wild lineage lasting until Late Iron Age, and highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and beyond.