"700,000-Year-Old Horse Genome Shatters..." Topic

… Record for Sequencing of Ancient DNA

"By piecing together the genetic information locked inside a frozen, fossilized bone, scientists have deciphered the complete genome of an extinct prehistoric horse that roamed the Yukon more than 700,000 years ago. The work rewrites the evolutionary history of the horse and smashes the previous record for the oldest complete genome ever sequenced. In doing so, it redefines how far back in time scientists can travel using DNA sequences as their guide.

Every time a cowboy throws a leg over the saddle and gallops off on his horse, he's riding on top of 4 million years of evolutionary history. But this history is mostly a mystery. We know surprisingly little about how natural selection and thousands of years of selective breeding by humans have shaped these animals on the genetic scale…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Thanks for that.

Now all we need to know is… was prehistoric apeman trying to pass that horse meat off as aurochs beef?

700,000 years, wow! That's something like 10 times as far back as the previous record. Impressive!

They patched the missing sections of DNA with amphibian DNA but don't worry, all the prehistoric horses on the park are female.

Glad you had enjoy the article my (lady) friend.!

Amicalement
Armand

Very neat indeed.