Hello dears!!! I have observed a male zebra hybrid (mare zebra x male donkey) produced offspring from female donkey under natural condition in Ethiopia. I am recording my obervations and looking for scientific justifications. would please provide me the possiblities of this genetic puzzle? thank you Bekem
There is an excellent article available at Wikipedia on the subject that will I think answer much of your question. I take the liberty of reproducing a relevant section below - there is much else of interest in the article.
Donkeys and wild equids have different numbers of chromosomes. A donkey has 62 chromosomes; the zebra has 44. In spite of this difference, viable hybrids are possible provided the gene combination in the hybrid allows for embryonic development to birth. A hybrid has a number of chromosomes somewhere in between. The chromosome difference makes female hybrids poorly fertile and male hybrids sterile due to a phenomenon called Haldane's Rule. The difference in chromosome number is most likely due to horses having 2 longer chromosomes that contain similar gene content that contain the same genes as 4 zebra chromosomes.
McKinnnon and Voss' publication "Equine Reproduction" also carries a chapter on the subject that explores chromosomal issues in more depth.
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