Yakut Pony Extreme Cold Adaptations

A friend posted a photo of a rider and some Yakutia ponies in Siberia and noted the resemblance to Icelandics. I made an assumption that the Yakutia were closely related to the Icelandic horse but decided to research the origin of this rare pony breed.

In 2015, Librado, et al, published "Tracking the origins of Yakutian horses and the genetic basis for their fast adaptation to subartic environments." The mtdna research showed that Yakutians are related to Arabians, American Quarter horses, Monglians, Morgans, Norwegian Fjords, Standardbreds, Franches-Montagnes, and Icelandics.

But what was really interesting was the unique physiological adaptations that the breed made due to an extreme cold environment in a relatively short amount of time. Turkish speaking herders and riders brought their horses and cattle into Yakutia between the 13th and 15th centuries because of

pressure from the Mongol expansion.

Some of the adaptations documented in the Yakut breed--short and compact build, sensory perception of smell, fat accumulation, extreme hair density--are related to minimizing heat loss. Others are related to the endocrine/hormonal system for cold adaptation. Here is my best interpretation--adaptations to the liver that produce anti-freezing compounds, more adaptive regulation of the vasoconstriction/vasodilatation reflex following cold exposure, reduction of the volume of circulating blood, etc.

This research also helps explain why Siberian ponies (and some Icelandics and even Himalayan mules) were so valued during the early Polar expeditions. Some explorers thought the ponies were more useful than the dogs (although this did not prove out as a general conclusion) and became very attached to them. The attached pictures illustrate the Siberian "pony circus" of the Ziegler polar expedition, commanded by Anthony Fiala, from 1903 to 1904.

What is interesting is that some of these same changes were found among the Yakut human population and the wooly mamouth--great examples of convergent evolution. I wonder if I could blame my fat accumulation on a fictional Yakut ancestor. ;-)

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/50/E6889.full.pdf

New Study on MCOA in Silver Dapples--Icelandic Horses

"The refractive state of the eye in Icelandic horses with the Silver mutation," a research study by Maria K. Johansson, Kim Jäderkvist Fegraeus, Gabriella Lindgren, and Björn Ekesten was published on June 2, 2017.  In light of recent research showing that Comtois horses with the silver dapple mutation had "significantly deeper anterior chambers of the eye compared to wild-type horses" that could potentially result in refractive errors, the researchers decided to look at Icelandic horses with the same mutation to see if they have refractive issues.

The researchers examines 152 Icelandics horses--71 horses that were heterozygous (CT) for the mutation and 5 that were homozygous (TT).
 

Results and Conclusion:


"The interaction between age and genotype had a significant impact on the refractive state (P = 0.0001). CT horses older than 16 years were on average more myopic than wild-type horses of the same age. No difference in the refractive state could be observed between genotypes (CT and CC) in horses younger than 16 years. TT horses were myopic (−2 D or more) in one or both eyes regardless of age.

Our results indicate that an elderly Icelandic horse (older than 16 years) carrying the Silver mutation is more likely to be myopic than a wild-type horse of the same age."

You can read the entire study at:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12917-017-1059-7

You can read my more in-depth research article on MCOA in Icelandics at:
https://blessiblog.blogspot.com/p/mcoa.html

Blessi and Me Arcimboldo Style

I am experimenting with some new art software. Attached is a painting of me and Blessi in the style
of Giuseppe Arcimboldo,16th century Italian Renaissance painter. Blessi thinks there aren't enough apples in the mix and his mane should have been rendered using peanuts in the shell rather than garlic. What do you think?

The other painting is Arcimboldo's portrait of Rudolf II painted as Vertumnus, the Roman God

of the seasons. Source: Wikipedia.