Genetic History
A 2003 study of mitochondrial DNA indicated four distinct maternal lineages in tribe Bovini:
- taurine cattle and zebu,
- wisent,
- American bison and yak, and
- banteng, gaur, and gayal.
However, Y chromosome analysis associated wisent and American bison. An earlier study using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting showed a close association of wisent and American bison and probably with yak, but noted that the interbreeding of Bovini species made determining relationships problematic.
Wisent-American bison hybrids were briefly experimented with in Germany and a herd of such animals is maintained in Russia. A herd of cattle-wisent crossbreeds (Zubron) is maintained in Poland. First-generation crosses do not occur naturally, requiring caesarean delivery. First-generation males are infertile.
Read more about this topic: European Bison
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