Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2026, 71(3):118-128 | DOI: 10.17221/127/2025-CJAS

On the origin of Bohemian cattle according to mitochondrial DNA

Karel Novák ORCID...1, Vojtěch Janák ORCID...2,3, René Kyselý ORCID...2
1 Department of Genetics and Breeding of Farm Animals, Institute of Animal Science Prague (IAS), Prague, Czech Republic
2 Department of Natural Sciences and Archaeometry, Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
3 Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

The genomic structure of extant cattle populations can contribute to the reconstruction of the history of particular breeds or their subpopulations. Genome-wide population resequencing of extant populations of Czech Red Pied (CRP) cattle, its conserved nucleus herd, and Czech Red (CR) cattle detected a T106C polymorphism in mitochondrial DNA shared by the conserved CRP herd with a geographical belt of Anatolian, Illyrian and Eastern Alpine breeds. On the other hand, this SNP is practically absent in the 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 in CR cattle, which, like the GRM, belongs to the group of mountain red cattle breeds. It seems that the precursory cattle population in Central Europe was influenced by the germplasm from the Balkans-related group of breeds, thanks to the political and commercial influence of the Northern Italian, Austrian and Hungarian regions. In addition, the presence of this polymorphism in some 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.

Keywords: aurochs; Busha; Czech Red cattle; Czech Simmental; historical cattle

Received: September 9, 2025; Accepted: March 19, 2026; Prepublished online: March 27, 2026; Published: March 31, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Novák K, Janák V, Kyselý R. On the origin of Bohemian cattle according to mitochondrial DNA. Czech Journal of Animal Science. 2026;71(3):118-128. doi: 10.17221/127/2025-CJAS.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Achilli A, Bonfiglio S, Olivieri A, Malusa A, Pala M, Kashani BH, Perego UA, Ajmone-Marsan P, Liotta L, Semino O, Bandelt HJ, Ferretti L, Torroni A. The multifaceted origin of taurine cattle reflected by the mitochondrial genome. PLoS One. 2009 Jun 1;4(6):e5753. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. Achilli A, Olivieri A, Pellecchia M, Uboldi C, Colli L, Al-Zahery N, Accetturo M, Pala M, Kashani BH, Perego UA, Battaglia V, Fornarino S, Kalamati J, Houshmand M, Negrini R, Semino O, Richards M, Macaulay V, Ferretti L, Bandelt HJ, Ajmone-Marsan P, Torroni A. Mitochondrial genomes of extinct aurochs survive in domestic cattle. Curr Biol. 2008 Feb 26;18(4):R157-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. Anderung C, Bouwman A, Persson P, Carretero JM, Ortega AI, Elburg R, Smith C, Arsuaga JL, Ellegren H, Gotherstrom A. Prehistoric contacts over the Straits of Gibraltar indicated by genetic analysis of Iberian Bronze Age cattle. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2005 Jun 14;102(24):8431-5. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Bovine Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium; Elsik CG, Tellam RL, Worley KC, Gibbs RA, Muzny DM, Weinstock GM, Adelson DL, Eichler EE, Elnitski L, Guigo R, Hamernik DL, Kappes SM, Lewin HA, Lynn DJ, Nicholas FW, Reymond A, Rijnkels M, Skow LC, Zdobnov EM, Schook L, Womack J, Alioto T, Antonarakis SE, Astashyn A, Chapple CE, Chen HC, Chrast J, Camara F, Ermolaeva O, Henrichsen CN, Hlavina W, Kapustin Y, Kiryutin B, Kitts P, Kokocinski F, Landrum M, Maglott D, Pruitt K, Sapojnikov V, Searle SM, Solovyev V, Souvorov A, Ucla C, Wyss C, Anzola JM, Gerlach D, Elhaik E, Graur D, Reese JT, Edgar RC, McEwan JC, Payne GM, Raison JM, Junier T, Kriventseva EV, Eyras E, Plass M, Donthu R, Larkin DM, Reecy J, Yang MQ, Chen L, Cheng Z, Chitko-McKown CG, Liu GE, Matukumalli LK, Song J, Zhu B, Bradley DG, Brinkman FS, Lau LP, Whiteside MD, Walker A, Wheeler TT, Casey T, German JB, Lemay DG, Maqbool NJ, Molenaar AJ, Seo S, Stothard P, Baldwin CL, Baxter R, Brinkmeyer-Langford CL, Brown WC, Childers CP, Connelley T, Ellis SA, Fritz K, Glass EJ, Herzig CT, Iivanainen A, Lahmers KK, Bennett AK, Dickens CM, Gilbert JG, Hagen DE, Salih H, Aerts J, Caetano AR, Dalrymple B, Garcia JF, Gill CA, Hiendleder SG, Memili E, Spurlock D, Williams JL, Alexander L, Brownstein MJ, Guan L, Holt RA, Jones SJ, Marra MA, Moore R, Moore SS, Roberts A, Taniguchi M, Waterman RC, Chacko J, Chandrabose MM, Cree A, Dao MD, Dinh HH, Gabisi RA, Hines S, Hume J, Jhangiani SN, Joshi V, Kovar CL, Lewis LR, Liu YS, Lopez J, Morgan MB, Nguyen NB, Okwuonu GO, Ruiz SJ, Santibanez J, Wright RA, Buhay C, Ding Y, Dugan-Rocha S, Herdandez J, Holder M, Sabo A, Egan A, Goodell J, Wilczek-Boney K, Fowler GR, Hitchens ME, Lozado RJ, Moen C, Steffen D, Warren JT, Zhang J, Chiu R, Schein JE, Durbin KJ, Havlak P, Jiang H, Liu Y, Qin X, Ren Y, Shen Y, Song H, Bell SN, Davis C, Johnson AJ, Lee S, Nazareth LV, Patel BM, Pu LL, Vattathil S, Williams RL Jr, Curry S, Hamilton C, Sodergren E, Wheeler DA, Barris W, Bennett GL, Eggen A, Green RD, Harhay GP, Hobbs M, Jann O, Keele JW, Kent MP, Lien S, McKay SD, McWilliam S, Ratnakumar A, Schnabel RD, Smith T, Snelling WM, Sonstegard TS, Stone RT, Sugimoto Y, Takasuga A, Taylor JF, Van Tassell CP, Macneil MD, Abatepaulo AR, Abbey CA, Ahola V, Almeida IG, Amadio AF, Anatriello E, Bahadue SM, Biase FH, Boldt CR, Carroll JA, Carvalho WA, Cervelatti EP, Chacko E, Chapin JE, Cheng Y, Choi J, Colley AJ, de Campos TA, De Donato M, Santos IK, de Oliveira CJ, Deobald H, Devinoy E, Donohue KE, Dovc P, Eberlein A, Fitzsimmons CJ, Franzin AM, Garcia GR, Genini S, Gladney CJ, Grant JR, Greaser ML, Green JA, Hadsell DL, Hakimov HA, Halgren R, Harrow JL, Hart EA, Hastings N, Hernandez M, Hu ZL, Ingham A, Iso-Touru T, Jamis C, Jensen K, Kapetis D, Kerr T, Khalil SS, Khatib H, Kolbehdari D, Kumar CG, Kumar D, Leach R, Lee JC, Li C, Logan KM, Malinverni R, Marques E, Martin WF, Martins NF, Maruyama SR, Mazza R, McLean KL, Medrano JF, Moreno BT, More DD, Muntean CT, Nandakumar HP, Nogueira MF, Olsaker I, Pant SD, Panzitta F, Pastor RC, Poli MA, Poslusny N, Rachagani S, Ranganathan S, Razpet A, Riggs PK, Rincon G, Rodriguez-Osorio N, Rodriguez-Zas SL, Romero NE, Rosenwald A, Sando L, Schmutz SM, Shen L, Sherman L, Southey BR, Lutzow YS, Sweedler JV, Tammen I, Telugu BP, Urbanski JM, Utsunomiya YT, Verschoor CP, Waardenberg AJ, Wang Z, Ward R, Weikard R, Welsh TH Jr, White SN, Wilming LG, Wunderlich KR, Yang J, Zhao FQ. The genome sequence of taurine cattle: A window to ruminant biology and evolution. Science. 2009 Apr 24;324(5926):522-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Chen N, Zhang Z, Hou J, Chen J, Gao X, Tang L, Wangdue S, Zhang X, Sinding MHS, Liu X, Han J, Lu H, Lei C, Marshall F, Liu X. Evidence for early domestic yak, taurine cattle, and their hybrids on the Tibetan Plateau. Sci Adv. 2023 Dec 15;9(50):eadi6857. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Citek J, Kosvanec K, Rehout V, Hajic F, Soch M. Ceske cervene sklovite plemeno - Ohrozena geneticka linie [Czech Red cattle - An endangered genetic line]. Polnohospodarstvo. 1997;43:226-32. Slovak.
    7. Citek J, Panicke L, Rehout V, Prochazkova H. Study of genetic distances between cattle breeds of Central Europe. Czech J Anim Sci. 2006 Oct;51(10):429-36. Go to original source...
    8. Cubric-Curik V, Novosel D, Brajkovic V, Rota Stabelli O, Krebs S, Solkner J, Salamon D, Ristov S, Berger B, Trivizaki S, Bizelis I, Ferencakovic M, Rothammer S, Kunz E, Simcic M, Dovc P, Bunevski G, Bytyqi H, Markovic B, Brka M, Kume K, Stojanovic S, Nikolov V, Zinovieva N, Schonherz AA, Guldbrandtsen B, Cacic M, Radovic S, Miracle P, Vernesi C, Curik I, Medugorac I. Large-scale mitogenome sequencing reveals consecutive expansions of domestic taurine cattle and supports sporadic aurochs introgression. Evol Appl. 2021 Nov 27;15(4):663-78. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. Czernekova V, Kott T, Dudkova G, Sztankoova Z, Soldat J. Genetic diversity between seven Central European cattle breeds as revealed by microsatellite analysis. Czech J Anim Sci. 2006 Jan;51(1):1-7. Go to original source...
    10. Edwards CJ, Bollongino R, Scheu A, Chamberlain A, Tresset A, Vigne JD, Baird JF, Larson G, Ho SYW, Heupink TH, Shapiro B, Freeman AR, Thomas MG, Arbogast RM, Arndt B, Bartosiewicz L, Benecke N, Budja M, Chaix L, Choyke AM, Coqueugniot E, Dohle HJ, Goldner H, Hartz S, Helmer D, Herzig B, Hongo H, Mashkour M, Ozdogan M, Pucher E, Roth G, Schade-Lindig S, Schmolcke U, Schulting RJ, Stephan E, Uerpmann HP, Voros I, Voytek B, Bradley DG, Burger J. Mitochondrial DNA analysis shows a Near Eastern Neolithic origin for domestic cattle and no indication of domestication of European aurochs. Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Jun 7;274(1616):1377-85. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Edwards CJ, Ginja C, Kantanen J, Perez-Pardal L, Tresset A, Stock F; European Cattle Genetic Diversity Consortium; Gama LT, Penedo MCT, Bradley DG, Lenstra JA, Nijman IJ. Dual origins of dairy cattle farming - Evidence from a comprehensive survey of European Y-chromosomal variation. PLoS One. 2011 Jan 6;6(1):e15922. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. Edwards CJ, Magee DA, Park SDE, McGettigan PA, Lohan AJ, Murphy A, Finlay EK, Shapiro B, Chamberlain AT, Richards MB, Bradley DG, Loftus BJ, MacHugh DE. A complete mitochondrial genome sequence from a mesolithic wild aurochs (Bos primigenius). PLoS One. 2010 Feb 17;5(2):e9255. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. Frantz LAF, Bradley DG, Larson G, Orlando L. Animal domestication in the era of ancient genomics. Nat Rev Genet. 2020 Aug;21(8):449-60. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. Hassanin A, Ropiquet A, Couloux A, Cruaud C. Evolution of the mitochondrial genome in mammals living at high altitude: New insights from a study of the tribe Caprini (Bovidae, Antilopinae). J Mol Evol. 2009 Apr;68(4):293-310. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Hristov P, Sirakova D, Mitkov I, Spassov N, Radoslavov G. Balkan brachicerous cattle - The first domesticated cattle in Europe. Mitochondrial DNA A DNA Mapp Seq Anal. 2018 Jan;29(1):56-61. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Kysely R. Paleoekonomika lengyelskeho obdobi a eneolitu Cech a Moravy z pohledu archeozoologie [The palaeoeconomy of the Bohemian and Moravian Lengyel and Eneolithic periods from the perspective of archaeozoology]. Pamatky Archeol. 2012;103:5-70. Czech.
    17. Kysely R, Hajek M. MtDNA haplotype identification of aurochs remains originating from the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Environ Archaeol. 2012;17(2):118-25. Go to original source...
    18. Kysely R, Meduna P. O zvireti velkem jako slon, mezi jehoz rohy si mohou sednout tri muzi: Pratur ve stredoveku Cech a Moravy - Historicka a archeozoologicka analyza [About an elephant-sized animal that could seat three men between its horns: The aurochs in medieval Bohemia and Moravia - A historical and archaeozoological analysis]. Pamatky Archeol. 2009;100:241-60. Czech.
    19. Liu X, Liu W, Lenstra JA, Zheng Z, Wu X, Yang J, Li B, Yang Y, Qiu Q, Liu H, Li K, Liang C, Guo X, Ma X, Abbott RJ, Kang M, Yan P, Liu J. Evolutionary origin of genomic structural variations in domestic yaks. Nat Commun. 2023 Sep 19;14(1):5617. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    20. Ludwig A, Lieckfeldt D, Hesse UGW, Froelich K. Tracing the maternal roots of the domestic Red Mountain Cattle. Mitochondrial DNA A DNA Mapp Seq Anal. 2016;27(2):1080-3. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. Mannen H, Yonezawa T, Murata K, Noda A, Kawaguchi F, Sasazaki S, Olivieri A, Achilli A, Torroni A. Cattle mitogenome variation reveals a post-glacial expansion of haplogroup P and an early incorporation into northeast Asian domestic herds. Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 30;10(1):20842. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    22. Medugorac I, Medugorac A, Russ I, Veit-Kensch CE, Taberlet P, Luntz B, Mix HM, Forster M. Genetic diversity of European cattle breeds highlights the conservation value of traditional unselected breeds with high effective population size. Mol Ecol. 2009 Aug;18(16):3394-410. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Neumann GB, Korkuc P, Arends D, Wolf MJ, May K, Konig S, Brockmann GA. Genomic diversity and relationship analyses of endangered German Black Pied cattle (DSN) to 68 other taurine breeds based on whole-genome sequencing. Front Genet. 2023 Jan 4;13:993959. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    24. Novak K, Kyselova J, Czernekova V, Matlova V. Genomic data as a prerequisite for efficient conservation programme of the Czech Red cattle. In: Book of Abstracts of the 69th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science; 2018 Aug 27-31; Dubrovnik, Croatia. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers; 2018. p. 167.
    25. Novak K, Bjelka M, Samake K, Valcikova T. Potential of TLR-gene diversity in Czech indigenous cattle for resistance breeding as revealed by hybrid sequencing. Arch Anim Breed. 2019 Jul 26;62(2):477-90. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    26. Park SDE, Magee DA, McGettigan PA, Teasdale MD, Edwards CJ, Lohan AJ, Murphy A, Braud M, Donoghue MT, Liu Y, Chamberlain AT, Rue-Albrecht K, Schroeder S, Spillane C, Tai S, Bradley DG, Sonstegard TS, Loftus BJ, MacHugh DE. Genome sequencing of the extinct Eurasian wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, illuminates the phylogeography and evolution of cattle. Genome Biol. 2015 Oct 26;16:234. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    27. Peske L. The history of natural scientific methods in the Archaeological Institute and their present objectives. Pamatky Archeol Suppl. 1994;(Suppl_1):259-78.
    28. Rokosz M. History of the aurochs (Bos taurus primigenius) in Poland. Anim Genet Resour Inf. 1995 Apr;16:5-12. Go to original source...
    29. Sherratt A. The secondary exploitation of animals in the old world. World Archaeol. 1983;15(1):90-104. Go to original source...
    30. Scheu A, Powell A, Bollongino R, Vigne JD, Tresset A, Cakirlar C, Benecke N, Burger J. The genetic prehistory of domesticated cattle from their origin to the spread across Europe. BMC Genet. 2015 May 28;16:54. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    31. Schibler J, Elsner J, Schlumbaum A. Incorporation of aurochs into a cattle herd in Neolithic Europe: Single event or breeding? Sci Rep. 2014 Jul 23;4:5798. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    32. Sinding MHS, Gilbert MTP. The draft genome of extinct European aurochs and its implications for de-extinction. Open Quat. 2016 Sep 27;2:7. Go to original source...
    33. Tornede H. Das deutsche Rotvieh [The German red cattle]. Zuchtungskunde. 1948;20(1):1-224. German.
    34. Troy CS, MacHugh DE, Bailey JF, Magee DA, Loftus RT, Cunningham P, Chamberlain AT, Sykes BC, Bradley DG. Genetic evidence for Near-Eastern origins of European cattle. Nature. 2001 Apr 26;410(6832):1088-91. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    35. Upadhyay MR, Chen W, Lenstra JA, Goderie CRJ, MacHugh DE, Park SDE, Magee DA, Matassino D, Ciani F, Megens HJ, van Arendonk JAM, Groenen MAM; European Cattle Genetic Diversity Consortium. Genetic origin, admixture and population history of aurochs (Bos primigenius) and primitive European cattle. Heredity (Edinb). 2017 Feb;118(2):169-76. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    36. Wang SL, Nan ZR, Prete D. Protecting wild yak (Bos mutus) species and preventing its hybrid in China. J Arid Land. 2016 May;8(5):811-4. Go to original source...
    37. Zeyland J, Wolko L, Bocianowski J, Szalata M, Slomski R, Dzieduszycki AM, Reims N, Myczka A, Taggart JB, Thomson PC, Switonski M. Complete mitochondrial genome of wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) reconstructed from ancient DNA. Pol J Vet Sci. 2013;16(2):265-73. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0.), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content