Uncontrolled crossbreeding is a major challenge to the conservation of landrace horses in East Asia. Understanding the factors driving this trend is crucial for effective conservation efforts. Here, we investigate the genomic makeup of 40 Mongolian Naadam racehorses and 21 Asian landrace horse breeds through analyzing whole‐genome resequencing and Y chromosome data. Our results show that crossbreeding practices are linked to horse‐racing traditions. Regions characterized by strong horse‐racing traditions and a lack of crossbreeding regulations exhibit significant levels of exotic genetic introgression, as observed in populations from Inner Mongolia and Central Asia. However, in Mongolia, despite having strong horse‐racing traditions, the implementation of policies aimed at preserving traditional horse‐racing culture effectively reduces exotic introgression. These results suggest that horse‐racing traditions are the main driver of crossbreeding practices. Our research highlights that the preservation of traditional values in landrace horses, achieved through carefully managed horse‐racing activities, can lead to successful conservation outcomes.

中文翻译：

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蒙古那达慕非物质文化遗产保护促进蒙古马基因组保护

不受控制的杂交是东亚地方品种马保护面临的重大挑战。了解推动这一趋势的因素对于有效的保护工作至关重要。在这里，我们通过分析全基因组重测序和 Y 染色体数据，研究了 40 匹蒙古那达慕赛马和 21 种亚洲地方马品种的基因组组成。我们的结果表明，杂交实践与赛马传统有关。正如在内蒙古和中亚的人群中观察到的那样，以赛马传统浓厚且缺乏杂交法规为特征的地区表现出显着水平的外来基因渗入。然而，在蒙古国，尽管有着深厚的赛马传统，但旨在保护传统赛马文化的政策的实施，有效地减少了外来物的侵入。这些结果表明赛马传统是杂交育种的主要驱动力。我们的研究强调，通过精心管理赛马活动来保护地方赛马的传统价值，可以带来成功的保护成果。