Influence of Sires on Population Substructure in Dülmen Wild Horses

The objectives of the present study were to analyze the influence of the stallions employed in the Dülmen wild horses on the genetic diversity and population substructure using Bayesian cluster analysis. The Dülmen wild horse is maintained as a unique horse population exposed to the natural conditions all year round in the Merfelder Bruch near Dülmen in Westphalia, Germany. Stallions selected for breeding have to prove their abilities to survive under this harsh environment. We used multilocus genotypic information from a set of 29 autosomal microsatellites to determine the paternity of 185 male foals sired by nine stallions. As females could not be sampled, we could not make inferences on all yearlings and test whether there are differences in the genetic population parameters between both sexes. The mean number of progeny was 19.92 with a range of 2–32, caused by the length of the service period per stallion. The average observed and unbiased expected heterozygosity was 0.688 and 0.631, the mean number of alleles was 4.448, and Wright’s FIS was −0.173. Pairwise genetic distances (FST and Nei’s unbiased genetic distances) were significant and varied between 0.038 to 0.091 and 0.085 to 0.290, respectively. Neighbor-joining dendrogram plots clustered a large proportion of the paternal progeny groups in different branches. Posterior Bayesian analyses using seven paternal half-sib groups with 10–74 members supported a maximum of six clusters, with two paternal progeny groups not differing, and a median of five clusters, with two groups of two sires each falling into the same clusters. When sires were employed in non-consecutive years, progeny from these different years of the same sires were grouped in the same cluster, whereas the progeny of one sire from two consecutive years were in different clusters. We were able to distinguish male progeny from Dülmen wild horse stallions and to show the effects of stallion use on the genetic substructure in the Dülmen wild horse herd. In conclusion, the analyses showed the genetic potential of the Dülmen wild horse stallions to maintain a high genetic diversity and also the effects in which breeding seasons and for how long stallions are used to sire foals. The selection of stallions may be sensitive for the further development of genetic diversity and preserve this closed population as a valuable resource for further studies on the evolution of the horse.