biostudies-literatureUnknown109(7)Achilli AArchaeological and genetic evidence concerning the time and mode of wild horse (Equus ferus) domestication is still debated. High levels of genetic diversity in horse mtDNA have been detected when analyzing the control region; recurrent mutations, however, tend to blur the structure of the phylogenetic tree. Here, we brought the horse mtDNA phylogeny to the highest level of molecular resolution by analyzing 83 mitochondrial genomes from modern horses across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Our data reveal 18 major haplogroups (A-R) with radiation times that are mostly confined to the Neolithic and later periods and place the root of the phylogeny corresponding to the Ancestral Mare Mitogenome at ~130-160 thousand years ago. All haplogroups were detected in modern horses froProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2449-54https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC3289334biostudies-literatureMitochondrial genomes from modern horses reveal the major haplogroups that underwent domestication.PMC3289334Felicetti MGiulotto EWoodward SRBandelt HJTorroni AAchilli AHooshiar Kashani BCarossa VOlivieri APereira LPerego UAPenedo MCSemino OCapomaccio SHoushmand MLancioni HSoares PNergadze SGSilvestrelli MAl-Achkar WVerini-Supplizi ASantagostino MfalseMitochondrial genomes from modern horses reveal the major haplogroups that underwent domestication.Archaeological and genetic evidence concerning the time and mode of wild horse (Equus ferus) domestication is still debated. High levels of genetic diversity in horse mtDNA have been detected when analyzing the control region; recurrent mutations, however, tend to blur the structure of the phylogenetic tree. Here, we brought the horse mtDNA phylogeny to the highest level of molecular resolution by analyzing 83 mitochondrial genomes from modern horses across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Our data reveal 18 major haplogroups (A-R) with radiation times that are mostly confined to the Neolithic and later periods and place the root of the phylogeny corresponding to the Ancestral Mare Mitogenome at ~130-160 thousand years ago. All haplogroups were detected in modern horses fro2012-01-01T00:00:00Z2012 Feb2026-04-29T22:49:44.048Z2026-04-07T15:36:28.915ZS-EPMC32893342230834210.1073/pnas.1111637109