On the origin of Bohemian cattle according to mitochondrial DNA

The genomic structure ofextant cattle populations can contribute tothe reconstruction ofthe history ofparticular breeds ortheir subpopulations. Genome-wide population resequencing ofextant populations ofCzech Red Pied (CRP) cattle, its conserved nucleus herd, and Czech Red (CR) cattle detected aT106C polymorphism inmitochondrial DNA shared bythe conserved CRP herd with ageographical belt ofAnatolian, Illyrian and Eastern Alpine breeds. Onthe other hand, this SNP ispractically absent inthe historical cattle breeds associated with Northern Germany, including German Black Pied cattle, Holstein-Friesian and German Red Mountain cattle (GRM). Correspondingly, this indicator SNP was absent inCRcattle, which, like the GRM, belongs tothe group ofmountain red cattle breeds. Itseems that the precursory cattle population inCentral Europe was influenced bythe germplasm from the Balkans-related group ofbreeds, thanks tothe political and commercial influence ofthe Northern Italian, Austrian and Hungarian regions. Inaddition, the presence ofthis polymorphism insome European aurochs (Bos primigenius) bone remains suggests possible introgression from local aurochs populations. Alternatively, the T106C presence in yaks and in neighbouring cattle breeds in Northern India, China and Korea raises the possibility of origin of this polymorphism from yak populations. The spread of the T106C mutation in alpine regions is consistent with the known role of this mtDNA region in adaptation to the reduced oxygen pressure.