Dr. Péter Árpád Fehér - MATE Research
Overview
Péter Árpád Fehér, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Applied Wild and Farm Animal Genomics Group. Péter’s research focuses on conservation biology and population genetics of wild and domestic animal species, with particular emphasis on carnivores and other free-ranging mammals. His work investigates genetic diversity, population structure, hybridization, and the genetic basis of phenotypic variation, including coat colour polymorphisms, under natural and anthropogenic environmental pressures. He applies molecular genetic and genomic approaches to assess population connectivity and evolutionary processes in expanding or managed wildlife populations. His research supports evidence-based conservation, wildlife management, and the use of genetic data to inform adaptive management strategies in Central European ecosystems.
Research keywords:
Publications
Patko, L., Ujhegyi, N., Szabo, L., Peter, F., Schally, G., Toth, M., ... & Heltai, M. (2016). Even a hair casts its shadow: review and testing of noninvasive hair collecting methods of carnivores pecies. North-West J Zool, 12, 130-140. DOI: 10.1515/nwjz-2016-0012
Schally, G., Frank, K., Heltai, B., Fehér, P., Farkas, Á., Szemethy, L., & Stéger, V. (2018). High genetic diversity and weak population structuring in the Eurasian Woodcock in Hungary during spring. Ornis Fennica, 95(2), 61-69. DOI: 10.51812/of.133930
Kemenszky, P., Feher, P., Farkas, A., Janoska, F., Frank, K., BEDŐ, P., ... & Steger, V. (2021). Genetic differentiation of the Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) populations in southern Hungary and southern Romania as revealed by microsatellite data analysis. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 17(1). 10.1515/nwjz-2021-0003
Fehér, P., Frank, K., Gombkötő, P., Rigg, R., Bedő, P., Újváry, D., ... & Szemethy, L. (2022). The origin and population genetics of wolves in the north Hungarian mountains. Mammalian Biology, 102(5), 1823-1833. DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00287-7
Ninausz, N., Fehér, P., Csányi, E., Heltai, M., Szabó, L., Barta, E., ... & Stéger, V. (2023). White and other fur colourations and hybridization in golden jackals (Canis aureus) in the Carpathian basin. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 21969. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49265-0
Fehér, P., Molnár, Z., Pálfi, M. P., Pálfiné Lábadi, A., Plank, P., Lakatos, I., ... & Szőke, Z. (2025). The Initial Detection of Mycotoxins Released and Accumulated in the Golden Jackal (Canis aureus): Investigating the Potential of Carnivores as Environmental Bioindicators. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(8), 3755. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26083755
Projects
NKFIA 2017-1.3.1-VKE-2017-00026, 2018-2021. Increasing the productivity of domestic rabbit breeding by genomic methods
PMI/203-5/2023, 2024. Establishment of a Hungarian model farm and knowledge transfer hub in the Republic of Chad (Phase I).
SZRI/45-4/2024, 2025. Establishment of a Hungarian model farm and knowledge transfer hub in the Republic of Chad (Phase II).
2020-1.1.2-PIACI-KFI-2021-00305, 2023.06.01. – 2025.10.31. The development of technologies supporting the production of industrial milk, which is widely accepted from the point of view of nutritional physiology, with molecular biological tools
