If a Yakutian cattle bull refuses to go out when the temperature has dropped down to -50°C, he will not be qualified as a breeding animal in Yakutia, Eastern Siberia. Both humans and domestic animals have adapted to the Arctic conditions, which can be identified in their genes. As a result of human-made and natural selection Arctic domestic animals have been adapted to these harsh conditions, which has been now investigated and described using approaches of genetics, anthropology and art.

Juha Kantanen, a research
professor at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), has collected a large
set of biological materials and data for the study of the genomes of Northern
domestic animals, reindeer, cattle and horses during his expeditions in a project
called Arctic Ark.

“Adaptation and the close relationship
between humans and animals are especially pronounced in the Arctic conditions. The
animals, which have adapted relatively fast, also assisted humans in adapting to the
conditions,” Kantanen says.

The Arctic Ark researchers
collected samples from domestic animals in Lapland, Arkhangelsk and Yakutia. In
addition to reindeer, other domestic animals are kept and bred in the research
areas. Kantanen’s research team attended slaughtering during the coldest winter
months in Yakutia to collect research materials for studies of gene functions in
different tissues in extreme cold.

“Our results show that
partially the same genes have been under natural selection in the Arctic conditions
in reindeer, horses, cattle and even humans. These genes involve the ability to
withstand cold, metabolism and immunity. We refer to this as convergent evolution or
similar evolution of different species,” Kantanen explains.

Independent animals that can survive on little resources are the
goal

Florian Stammler,
a research professor at the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre, has been leading
the anthropological studies of the Arctic Ark. The researchers lived with the local
people and participated in their animal husbandry to determine which characteristics
are valued in animals in the Arctic region.

“People in the
north value the same characteristics in all domestic animals: independence, ease of
care and the animals being able to survive on a meagre diet. The animals behave well
in a herd, are able to find their own pastureland and know how to return back
home.”

According to Stammler, domestic animals are bred by
means of negative selection in Arctic communities. Individual animals are not picked
based on the desired characteristics: instead, unsuited animals are eliminated from
the herd. The significance of genetic diversity is also understood in Yakutia, and
it is ensured.

“Neighbours often switch animals, animals
from specific areas are highly valued and people want bulls from these areas, for
example. In many cases, animals from as far away as possible are obtained for the
herd. These are very deliberate and systematic strategies,” Stammler
describes.

Stammler emphasises the fact that native breeds
and their breeding strategies have much to offer to agriculture. Volume is not the
key in Arctic local communities. Instead, there is a sustainable attitude towards
the input-output ratio.

“Native breeds are a living example
of how useful diversity is. For example, Northern Finncattle produce much less milk
than the commercial breeds, but consume less feed, require less medication and
require less space in cowsheds. Many of the operating methods from our research
areas could be utilised in the development of sustainable agriculture in
Finland.”

Humans and their partners

Artist Anu Osva attended the
research trips to Yakutia and depicts in her work the northernmost domestic animals
in the world and the people who take care of them.

“The
three small Yakutian villages close to the Verkhoyansk mountain region and the
people and animals in these coldest areas of the world really touched me. The
artistic works I did there involves the Arctic area, animals as human companions,
genetics and adaptation in general,” Osva says.

Anu Osva is
a trained animal breeding scientist and a trained painter. She considers it
important to show both of these professions in her artistic work.

“My world view is a combination of science and art: there is no mysticism
involved.”

The union of science and art led Osva to art
& science. Finnish practitioners of the method have established the Finnish
Bioart Society.

“The method itself is very old. Artists
have sought the company of scientists throughout the times. Now, scientists and
artists work more concretely together, often as teams,” Osva explains.

Osva’s paintings of the small but sturdy Yakutian cows are already well
known. She travelled to Siberia for the first time in 2005. For the concluding
seminar of the Arctic Ark, Osva brought large paintings where video images are
reflected on top of them .

“It’s a laborious working
method, but oh so wonderful. I strive to depict how humans have travelled side by
side with these animals for thousands of years, and how both win on this shared
journey. Neither needs to be a slave,” Osva says.

An
exhibition called Co-Travellers can be viewed at Arktikum Science Centre in
Rovaniemi from 14 December 2018 to 3 March 2019.

Price of adaptation

With the help of the
most recent genomics research methods, Juha Kantanen has studied how the genome of
the Arctic domestic animals has changed from the ice ages to our days.

The genome of cattle shows that during the latest ice ages, over the
course of the past million years, the number of animals in the cattle population has
dropped and their genetic diversity has decreased. The DNA of the current domestic
cows shows signs of the history of their extinct wild ancestor, the wild ox or
aurochs. The ice ages – the most recent of which ended more than 10,000 years ago –
can also be seen in the genome of the Yakutian horse.

“In
addition, we observed that when humans started to domesticate these animals, only
part of the genetic diversity of the ancestral wild populations was retained. The
genome further deteriorated in the 19th century when breeds were established and
some characteristics were eliminated,” Kantanen explains.

The genome of reindeer has not been as effectively deteriorated by humans, even in
Siberia. Kantanen is satisfied with the unique reindeer genome data that was
collected during the course of the Arctic Ark. In future, it can offer answers to
many questions regarding the diversity of domestic animals.

The research on the cattle genome will also be continued. Kantanen discovered that
even though the Yakutian cattle have lived in isolation, they are, surprisingly,
genetically more diverse than European cattle.

“We
currently believe that they originate from the same cattle domestication centre in
the Middle East as our European cattle, but the Asian cattle may be based on a
larger founder population. It is also possible that humans crossbred Asian cattle
with Asian wild ox when travelling to the north. We plan to continue studying these
issues,” Kantanen concludes.

For more
information:

Research Professor Juha Kantanen,
Natural Resources Institute Finland, juha.kantanen(at)luke.fi
Research
Professor Florian Stammler, Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland, +358 400 138
807, florian.stammler(at)ulapland.fi
Artist Anu Osva, +358 41 510 6043,
anuosva(at)gmail.com

Press release: Natural Resources
Institute Finland
Photo: Päivi Soppela