Mendel and Darwin.

Evolution by natural selection is an explicitly genetic theory. Darwin recognized that a working theory of inheritance was central to his theory and spent much of his scientific life seeking one. The seeds of his attempt to fill this gap, his "provisional hypothesis" of pangenesis, appear in his notebooks when he was first formulating his evolutionary ideas. Darwin, in short, desperately needed Mendel. In this paper, we set Mendel's work in the context of experimental biology and animal/plant breeding of the period and review both the well-known story of possible contact between Mendel and Darwin and the actual contact between their ideas after their deaths. Mendel's contributions to evolutionary biology were fortuitous. Regardless, it is Mendel's work that completed Darwin's theory. The modern theory based on the marriage between Mendel's and Darwin's ideas as forged most comprehensively by R. A. Fisher is both Darwin's achievement and Mendel's.

Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series.

Horse domestication revolutionized warfare and accelerated travel, trade, and the geographic expansion of languages. Here, we present the largest DNA time series for a non-human organism to date, including genome-scale data from 149 ancient animals and 129 ancient genomes (≥1-fold coverage), 87 of which are new. This extensive dataset allows us to assess the modern legacy of past equestrian civilizations. We find that two extinct horse lineages existed during early domestication, one at the far western (Iberia) and the other at the far eastern range (Siberia) of Eurasia. None of these contributed significantly to modern diversity. We show that the influence of Persian-related horse lineages increased following the Islamic conquests in Europe and Asia. Multiple alleles associated with elite-racing, including at the MSTN "speed gene," only rose in popularity within the last millennium. Finally, the development of modern breeding impacted genetic diversity more dramatically than the previous millennia of human management.

Kings and peasants from El-Zuma/El-Detti microregion in the Early Makurian period. Economic aspects of animal bones from funerary contexts.

Tumuli fields at El-Zuma and El-Detti were dated to the 2nd phase of the Early Makurian period, c. AD 450-550. They represented three types of tombs of different sizes and structures. The animal remains from these graves were analyzed in the context of animal economy practiced by the people who lived in the vicinity of the burial sites. aDNA analysis was conducted for cattle remains to explain its origin and significance for the inhabitants of the region. The research showed agricultural nature of the settlement located to the north of the Nile Valley with a great importance of cattle and sheep breeding. It also indicated the northern direction of trade and cultural contacts of the society based in the El-Zuma/El-Detti microregion and the deep social stratification within this group.

Mapping Genes Is Good for You.

I abandoned my original career choice of high school teaching to pursue dentistry and soon abandoned that path for genetics. The latter decision was due to a challenge by a professor that led to me reading Nobel speeches by pioneer geneticists before I had formal exposure to the subject. Even then, I was 15 years into my career before my interest in rodent genomes gave way to mapping cattle genes. Events behind these twists and turns in my career path comprise the first part of this review. The remainder is a review of the development of the field of bovine genomics from my personal perspective. I have had the pleasure of working with outstanding graduate students, postdocs, and colleagues to contribute my small part to a discipline that has evolved from a few individuals mapping an orphan genome to a discipline underlying a revolution in animal breeding.

Shipping amphorae and shipping sheep? Livestock mobility in the north-east Iberian peninsula during the Iron Age based on strontium isotopic analyses of sheep and goat tooth enamel.

Animal mobility is a common strategy to overcome scarcity of food and the related over-grazing of pastures. It is also essential to reduce the inbreeding rate of animal populations, which is known to have a negative impact on fertility and productivity. The present paper shows the geographic range of sheep provisioning in different phases of occupation at the Iron Age site of Turó de la Font de la Canya (7th to 3rd centuries BC). Strontium isotope ratios from 34 archaeological sheep and goat enamel, two archaeological bones and 14 modern tree leaves are presented. The isotopic results suggest that sheep and goats consumed at the site were reared locally (within a few kilometres radius) during the whole period of occupation. The paper discusses the isotopic results in light of the socio-political structure of this period, as complex, strongly territorial societies developed during the Iron Age in the north-east Iberian Peninsula.

Reproduction in domestic ruminants during the past 50 yr: discovery to application.

The study of reproductive physiology in domestic ruminants has progressed from the whole animal to the molecular level in an amazingly short period of time. The volume of information on this subject is enormous; therefore, we have focused on domestic ruminants, with an emphasis on cattle. To date, artificial insemination (AI) is perhaps the most powerful technique that reproductive physiologists and geneticists have provided the livestock industry for genetic improvement. Early efforts to establish AI as a tool were initiated in Russia around 1899 and since that time major advances in methods of semen collection, evaluation of male fertility, cryopreservation of sperm, sex-sorted semen, and estrous cycle control have occurred. The preceding advances not only led to the widespread use of AI, but also contributed to our fundamental understanding of ovulation control, timing of insemination, gamete biology, and cryopreservation. In regards to anestrus, our understanding of the concept of neuroendocrine control of the pituitary gland and the role of steroid feedback led to the Gonadostat Theory, which proposes that onset of puberty is due to a decrease in the negative feedback of gonadal steroids over time. Subsequent studies in prepuberal and postpartum sheep and cattle established that a short luteal phase frequently precedes the first normal length cycle that is accompanied by estrous expression. This observation led to the common practice of treating prepuberal heifers and anestrous postpartum cows with a short-term progestin treatment (e.g., Controlled Internal Drug Release) to induce normal estrous cycles. In domestic ruminants, fertilization rate is high (85% to 95%); however, significant embryonic mortality before or around the time of maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) reduces the pregnancy rate to a single breeding. Significant effort has been directed at determining the time of MRP, the signal for MRP, as well as elucidating the physiological, cellular, and molecular dialogue between the conceptus and uterine environment. Advancements have now led us to the ability to edit the genome to alleviate disease and possibly improve production traits. In summary, major advancements in our understanding of reproductive biology have stemmed from efforts to establish the AI and embryo transfer technique and reduce the negative impact of anestrus and embryonic mortality in domestic ruminants.

James Cossar Ewart and the Origins of the Animal Breeding Research Department in Edinburgh, 1895-1920.

In 1919 the Animal Breeding Research Department was established in Edinburgh. This Department, later renamed the Institute of Animal Genetics, forged an international reputation, eventually becoming the centrepiece of a cluster of new genetics research units and institutions in Edinburgh after the Second World War. Yet despite its significance for institutionalising animal genetics research in the UK, the origins and development of the Department have not received as much scholarly attention as its importance warrants. This paper sheds new light on Edinburgh's place in early British genetics by drawing upon recently catalogued archival sources including the papers of James Cossar Ewart, Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh between 1882 and 1927. Although presently a marginal figure in genetics historiography, Ewart established two sites for experimental animal breeding work between 1895 and 1911 and played a central role in the founding of Britain's first genetics lectureship, also in 1911. These early efforts helped to secure government funding in 1913. However, a combination of the First World War, bureaucratic problems and Ewart's personal ambitions delayed the creation of the Department and the appointment of its director by another six years. This paper charts the institutionalisation of animal breeding and genetics research in Edinburgh within the wider contexts of British genetics and agriculture in the early twentieth century.

Barbados Blackbelly: the Caribbean ovine genetic resource.

Ovine production is one of the most important activities in animal production in tropical regions. The Barbados Blackbelly, a very interesting genetic resource, particularly well adapted to a harsh home environment in the humid tropics of the Caribbean. This review concerns this breed. It comprises aspects related to the breed history and standards and most importantly its reproductive and productive performances and gastrointestinal parasite tolerance in the Caribbean, North America and Central America and their introduction and use in crossbred trials in other regions of the tropics.

Genomic prediction unifies animal and plant breeding programs to form platforms for biological discovery.

The rate of annual yield increases for major staple crops must more than double relative to current levels in order to feed a predicted global population of 9 billion by 2050. Controlled hybridization and selective breeding have been used for centuries to adapt plant and animal species for human use. However, achieving higher, sustainable rates of improvement in yields in various species will require renewed genetic interventions and dramatic improvement of agricultural practices. Genomic prediction of breeding values has the potential to improve selection, reduce costs and provide a platform that unifies breeding approaches, biological discovery, and tools and methods. Here we compare and contrast some animal and plant breeding approaches to make a case for bringing the two together through the application of genomic selection. We propose a strategy for the use of genomic selection as a unifying approach to deliver innovative 'step changes' in the rate of genetic gain at scale.

Animal Board Invited Review: Sheep birth distribution in past herds: a review for prehistoric Europe (6th to 3rd millennia BC).

In temperate latitudes sheep have a seasonal reproductive behaviour, which imposes strong constraints on husbandry in terms of work organization and availability of animal products. During the last 50 years, researchers have focused on understanding the mechanisms driving small ruminants' reproduction cycles and finding ways to control them. This characteristic is inherited from their wild ancestor. However, the history of its evolution over the 10 millennia that separates present day European sheep from their Near Eastern ancestors' remains to be written. This perspective echoes archaeologists' current attempts at reconstructing ancient pastoral societies' socio-economical organization. Information related to birth seasonality may be retrieved directly from archaeological sheep teeth. The methodology consists of reconstructing the seasonal cycle record in sheep molars, through sequential analysis of the stable oxygen isotope composition (δ 18O) of enamel. Because the timing of tooth development is fixed within a species, inter-individual variability in this parameter reflects birth seasonality. A review of the data obtained from 10 European archaeological sites dated from the 6th to the 3rd millennia BC is provided. The results demonstrate a restricted breeding season for sheep: births occurred over a period of 3 to 4 months, from late winter to early summer at latitudes 43°N to 48°N, while a later onset was observed at a higher latitude (59°N). All conclusions concurred with currently held expectations based on present day sheep physiology, which, aside from the historical significance, contributes to the reinforcing of the methodological basis of the approach. Further study in this area will permit regional variability attributable to technical choices, within global schemes, to be fully reported.

[Historic treasures of Swiss horse breeding]. / Historische Preziosen der Schweizer Pferdezucht.

INTRODUCTION: Both a mandate of the Bernese Government (1705) and statements in the Georgica Helvetica of 1706 prove that Swiss horse breeding was lucrative and of good quality at that time. However, the political turmoil at the transition from the 18th to 19th century and excessive sales to France and Italy led to a severe drop in quantity as well in quality. The exhibition of horses in Aarau in 1865 showed a wretched state of the material. In the same year, Rudolf Zangger wrote a guide for the discussion of horse breeding in Switzerland. In the following year (1866), Johann Jakob Rychner published a report on horse breeding, and a further treatise on Swiss horse breeding by Johann Heinrich Hirzel followed in 1883. These publications created good and comprehensive fundamentals, which can still be considered valid. However history shows that the results and recommendations of these analyses barely led to improvements. Todays genomics with their possibilities open up a new era of animal breeding and raise bigger demands than ever.

Un mandat du gouvernement bernois de 1705 et les explications de Georgica helvetica de 1706 nous montrent la bonne qualité et la valeur économique de l'élevage chevalin de l'époque. Les troubles politiques à la fin du 18ème siècle et les exportations d'un nombre trop élevé de chevaux vers la France et l'Italie ont eu comme conséquence une perte de la valeur génétique et une diminution du nombre des chevaux. L'exposition chevaline de Aarau en 1865 a montré un triste état de la situation. Pendant la même année, Rudolf Zangger a publié des réflexions sur l'élevage chevalin en Suisse et, une année plus tard, Johann Jakob Rychner en faisait de même. En 1883, Johann Heinrich Hirzel a fait paraître ses propositions sur l'élevage chevalin. Aujourd'hui encore, le contenu de ces publications peut être considéré comme actuel. Une rétrospective montre que ces analyses et les propositions d'améliorations n'ont eu que peu de résultats. Les possibilités actuelles de la génomique ouvrent une nouvelle ère pour l'élevage et représentent un vrai défi pour l'avenir.

Three Thousand Years of Continuity in the Maternal Lineages of Ancient Sheep (Ovis aries) in Estonia.

Although sheep (Ovis aries) have been one of the most exploited domestic animals in Estonia since the Late Bronze Age, relatively little is known about their genetic history. Here, we explore temporal changes in Estonian sheep populations and their mitochondrial genetic diversity over the last 3000 years. We target a 558 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial hypervariable region in 115 ancient sheep from 71 sites in Estonia (c. 1200 BC-AD 1900s), 19 ancient samples from Latvia, Russia, Poland and Greece (6800 BC-AD 1700), as well as 44 samples of modern Kihnu native sheep breed. Our analyses revealed: (1) 49 mitochondrial haplotypes, associated with sheep haplogroups A and B; (2) high haplotype diversity in Estonian ancient sheep; (3) continuity in mtDNA haplotypes through time; (4) possible population expansion during the first centuries of the Middle Ages (associated with the establishment of the new power regime related to 13th century crusades); (5) significant difference in genetic diversity between ancient populations and modern native sheep, in agreement with the beginning of large-scale breeding in the 19th century and population decline in local sheep. Overall, our results suggest that in spite of the observed fluctuations in ancient sheep populations, and changes in the natural and historical conditions, the utilisation of local sheep has been constant in the territory of Estonia, displaying matrilineal continuity from the Middle Bronze Age through the Modern Period, and into modern native sheep.

Albert Heim (1849-1937): The Multifaceted Geologist Who Influenced Research Into Near-death Experiences and Suggestion Therapy.

Swiss geologist Albert Heim is well known for his pioneering contributions to several aspects of geology, and for his role in establishing the breeding of different kinds of Swiss mountain dogs. In the field of near-death research, it is also recognized that he performed a pioneering study into near-death states of falling mountaineers. It seems hardly known, however, that Heim also influenced suggestion therapy significantly-in particular, the treatment of warts by suggestion. This article provides an overview of Heim's contribution in the latter field of study.

[WILD MAMMALS OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA IN THE WORKS OF JEAN-EMMANUEL GILIBERT]. / DZIKIE SSAKI WIELKIEGO KSIESTWA LITEWSKIEGO W PRACACH JEANA-EMMANUELA GILIBERTA.

Among the many topics of lively scientific work that Jean Emmanuel Gilibert (1741-1814) conducted in Grodno and Vilnius, an important place is occupied by his observations of wild mammals. Royal patronage and care from Antoni Tyzenhauz, Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the governor of Grodno, allowed Gilibert to keep and observe wild fauna captured by royal services in royal forests, including Bialowieza Primeval Forest. Such was an origin of a female bison kept by Gilibert in Grodno. Its description, published in Indagatores naturae in Lithuania (Vilnius 1781) for decades became the primary source of information about the behaviour, food preferences and the anatomy of European bison. European science has just begun to take interest in European bison, therefore Gilibert's account entered scientific circulation by way of French natural history encyclopaedias (mainly Georges Buffon's Histoire naturelle) and works by Georges Cuvier or Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Apart from the description of European bison, Gilibert left an entire series of observations of wild mammals inhabiting the forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. His accounts of moose were important in building a knowledge base for this species. In the first half of the 18th century, moose was known mainly from fantastic descriptions in Renaissance works and from prescriptions devoted to using moose hoof as the epilepsy treatment. Gilibert's observations helped to overthrow such superstitions. Similarly, Gilibert's first-hand information verified the widespread legends concerning brown bear (e.g. the belief that white bears, belonging to other species than polar bears, occur in Lithuania) . List of species kept and thoroughly watched by the scholar is much longer and includes lynx, wolf (and hybrids of wolves and dogs), beaver, badger, fox, hedgehog, and even white mouse. Also his comments on the species of mammals then absent in Lithuania but known either from farming or from the fur trade (wolverine, bobak marmot or steppe polecat). Also in these cases, Gilibert's descriptions were often the first reliable information that entered the circulation in European science. His accounts were not free of errors and mistakes--but they resulted mainly from the pioneering role of his work. Some of his breeding experiments can arouse the reader's sincere smile today, such as an attempt to feed a beaver with fish or serve cooked beans to a lynx In the margins of his mammal observations, Gilibert described also the place of their occurrence, extensive forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Read from the contemporary perspective, his thoughts are surprisingly relevant. In his praise of "primeval nature, free from human actions and not disturbed by accident or by the impatience of human desires" he sounds very similar to today's eulogists of the primeval forest of Bialowieza.

Conditional mutations in Drosophila melanogaster: On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of G. Mendel's report in Brünn.

The basis for modern genetics was laid by Gregor Mendel. He proposed that traits belonging to the intraspecific variability class be studied. However, individuals of one species possess traits of another class. They are related to intraspecific similarity. Individuals never differ from each other in these traits. By analogy with traits varying within a species and determined by genes, it is conjectured that intraspecific similarity is determined by genes, too. If so, mutations in these genes can be obtained. This paper provides a review of works published in 2000-2014 that: (1) propose breeding methods for detection of mutations in Drosophila melanogaster genes that lead intraspecific similarity; these mutations were called conditional; (2) describe collections of conditional mutations in chromosomes X, 2, and 3 of Drosophila; (3) show unusual features of epigenetic nature in the mutants; and (4) analyze these features of the mutants. Based on the peculiarities of manifestation it is supposed that the recognized conditional mutations occur in genes responsible for intraspecific similarity. The genes presumably belong to the so-called regulatory network of the Drosophila genome. This approach expands the scope of breeding analysis introduced by G. Mendel for heredity studies 150 years ago.

The legend of the Canadian horse: genetic diversity and breed origin.

The Canadian breed of horse invokes a fascinating chapter of North American history and as such it is now a heritage breed and the national horse of Canada. The aims of this study were to determine the level of genetic diversity in the Canadian, investigate the possible foundation breeds and the role it had in the development of the US horse breeds, such as Morgan Horse. We tested a total of 981 horses by using 15 microsatellite markers. We found that Canadian horses have high values of genetic diversity indices and show no evidence of a serious loss of genetic diversity and the inbreeding coefficient was not significantly different from zero. Belgian, Percheron, Breton and Dales Pony, unlike the light French horses, may have common ancestries with the Canadian and could be important founders. However, the Shire and Clydesdale influenced the Canadian to a lesser extent than French and Belgian draft breeds. Furthermore, our finding indicated that there was no evidence of a clear relationship between Canadian and Oriental or Iberian breeds. Also, the Canadian likely contributed to the early development of the Morgan. Finally, these findings support the ancient legends of the Canadian Horse as North America's first equine breed and the foundation bloodstock to many American breeds and may help in the management and breeding program of this outstanding breed in North America.