Iranian scientists create the 1st cell bank for the ancestors of the world’s horses (Caspian Horse)

Iranian Biological Resource Center (IBRC) has succeeded in preparing and preserving a collection of fibroblast cells from 51 Caspian horses.

The institute’s head, Dr. Seyed Abolhhassan Shahzadeh Fazeli says the horse industry is today among the top 5 booming industries in the world, and Iran is the first cradle for horse breeding in the world.

Dr. Fazeli said the Caspian horse has been living along Iran’s Caspian Sea coast since 6000 BC. These horses were first discovered in 1965 on the outskirts of Amol city in Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran. This horse which is short and has small ears is also known as the miniature horse of Khazar or the Caspian Sea. It is also has an international reputation of being one of the original horse pedigrees in the world.

Dr. Fazeli said the Caspian horse is a native of Iran, and therefore is considered to be a valuable genetic resource. Unfortunately however, this horse is on the brink of extinction due to a lack of attention.

Dr. Fazeli said many years have gone by since the establishment of Caspian horse societies in the UK and US. He said the export of this horse has turned into a booming trade in these countries. However because of inbreeding and their homogenous nature, these horses lack the genetic diversity seen in Iran.

Therefore it is necessary for our scientists to identify record and tap into this natural treasure of genetic supply and make appropriate plans to breed and increase the number of these horses in order to add to the country’s wealth.

Dr. Fazeli said as a first step in preserving this precious national heritage, IBRC has prepared cell collections of the Caspian horse. He said this national project is not only valuable in that it preserves the country’s genetic resources, but it can also help in preventing the extinction of the Caspian horse. He said this cell collection can easily be accessed by interested researchers for genetic studies, breeding and replications.

The characteristics of each cell category, including the animal’s ID and picture, as well as cell ID can be found at the following link http://ibrc.ir/LinkClick.aspx?link=849&tabid=36

Translated by: Shiva Bakhtiari