Analysis of D-loop mitochondrial marker polymorphism of Przewalsky horses Equus Caballus Przewalskii Poljakov, 1881 and proposals for the species conservation in Belarus

The article presents the first data on the haplotype diversity of the Przhevalsky horse population in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and discusses the conservation status of this species in Belarus. It is shown that at present the Przhevalsky horse constantly lives in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the form of a stable population group of individuals with a typical exterior and a haplotypic originality in a state of natural freedom. Data from a genetic analysis based on polymorphism of the control region of the D-loop mitochondrial DNA show that the Przhevalsky horse population has the same haplotype with individuals of the Ukrainian part of the population and a pronounced genetic distance from other descendants of this species from Askania-Nova. Based on the rarity of the Przhevalsky horse in the world and, accordingly, the high international conservation status, and also taking into account the value and significance of a freely living population in the Chernobyl exclusion zone for the natural survival of the species as a whole the species Equus caballus przewalskii is recommended for inclusion in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus.

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