Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are the most polymorphic in vertebrates and the high variability in many MHC genes is thought to play a crucial role in pathogen recognition. The MHC class II locus DQA polymorphism was analyzed in the end...
Cloning from historically cryopreserved cells offers a potential means to restore lost genetic variation or increase the representation of particular lineages within bottlenecked species, provided such biobanked materials are archived for such geneti...
This review summarizes studies on Przewalski’s horse since its extinction in the wild in the 1960s, with a focus on the reintroduction projects in Mongolia and China, with current population status. Historical and present distribution, populati...
In Europe, the interest in introducing megaherbivores to achieve ambitious habitat restoration goals is increasing. In this study, we present the results of a one-year monitoring program in a rewilding project in Germany (Doeberitzer Heide), where Eu...
Diarrhea serves as a vital health indicator for assessing wildlife populations post-reintroduction. Upon release into the wild, wild animals undergo adaptation to diverse habitats and dietary patterns. While such changes prompt adaptive responses in...
Understanding social relationships in at-risk species held in captivity is vital for their welfare and potential reintroduction. In social species like the Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), daily time allocation and space use may be...
The gut microbiome offers important ecological benefits to the host; however, our understanding of the functional microbiome in relation to wildlife adaptation, especially for translocated endangered species, is lagging. In this study, we adopted a c...
Over 40 years ago, scientists imagined ways cloning could aid conservation of threatened taxa. The cloning of Dolly the sheep from adult somatic cells in 1996 was the breakthrough that finally enabled the conservation potential of the technology. Unt...
Intestinal microbiota play an important role in the survival of the host. However, no study to date has elucidated the adjustment of intestinal microbiota of the host during rewilding. Thus, this study aims to describe the intestinal bacterial commun...
The objective of the present study was to analyze the genetic diversity, individual-based assessment of population structure, and admixture in the Dülmen wild horse population in comparison to warmblood, coldblood, and primitive horse population...
The 55-million-year history of equine phylogeny has been well-documented from the skeletal record; however, this is less true for the soft tissue structures that are now vestigial in modern horse. A recent study reported that two ligamentous structur...
Social bond analysis is of major importance for the evaluation of social relationships in group housed horses. However, in equine behaviour literature, studies on social bond analysis are inconsistent. Mutual grooming (horses standing side by side an...
The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) catalyzes the synthesis of the multifunctional second messenger, cGAMP, in metazoans. Although numerous cGAS homologues are predicted in protein databases, the catalytic activity towards cGAMP synthesis has been pro...
Background/Objectives: The Mongolian horse, one of the oldest and most genetically diverse breeds, exhibits a wide variety of coat colors and patterns, including both wild-type and unique features. A notable characteristic of dun Mongolian horses is...
Anaerobic fungi (AF), belonging to the phylum Neocallimastigomycota, are a pivotal component of the digestive tract microbiome of various herbivorous animals. In the last decade, the diversity of AF has rapidly expanded due to the exploration of nume...
Polish Konik is a native horse breed from Poland often regarded as living descendants of the extinct Tarpan, which has been crucial to the breed’s conservation status and cultural importance. To evaluate Polish Konik origins, we sequenced 12 wh...
Background/Objectives: Dülmen wild horses are kept in a fenced wooden and marsh area around Dülmen in Westphalia, Germany, since 1856. Previous analyses supported early genetic divergence from other domesticated horse populations and the Pr...
This study aims to examine the genetic structure and diversity levels of seven indigenous Greek horse breeds: Andravida, Pindos, Thessaly, Skyros, Penia, Messara and Rodos, using 15 microsatellites. Phenotypic traits were combined with factorial corr...