mtDNA Data Indicate a Single Origin for Dogs South of Yangtze River, Less Than 16,300 Years Ago, from Numerous Wolves

Journal Article · 01 September 2009 · Molecular Biology and Evolution

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp195 · OSTI ID:1625392

Pang, Jun-Feng ^[1]; Kluetsch, Cornelya ^[2]; Zou, Xiao-Ju ^[3]; Zhang, Ai-bing ^[3]; Luo, Li-Yang ^[4]; Angleby, Helen ^[2]; Ardalan, Arman ^[5]; Ekstrom, Camilla ^[2]; Skollermo, Anna ^[2]; Lundeberg, Joakim ^[2]; Matsumura, Shuichi ^[6]; Leitner, Thomas ^[7]; Zhang, Ya-Ping ^[8]; Savolainen, Peter ^[2]

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1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming (China). Kuming Inst. of Zoology. State Key Lab. of Genetic Resources and Evolution; Yunnan Univ., Kunming (China). Lab. for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resourse; DOE/OSTI
2. KTH Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). School of Biotechnology. Dept. of Gene Technology
3. Yunnan Univ., Kunming (China). Lab. for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resourse
4. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming (China). Kuming Inst. of Zoology. State Key Lab. of Genetic Resources and Evolution; Northeast Forestry Univ., Harbin (China). College of Wildlife Resource
5. KTH Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). School of Biotechnology. Dept. of Gene Technology; National Inst. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran (Iran); Univ. of Tehran, Karaj (Iran). School of Agronomy and Animal Science
6. International Inst. for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg (Austria). Evolution and Ecology Program; Leibniz-Inst. of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin (Germany). Dept. of Fish Biology and Ecology
7. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Theoretical Biology and Biophysics
8. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming (China). Kuming Inst. of Zoology. State Key Lab. of Genetic Resources and Evolution; Yunnan Univ., Kunming (China). Lab. for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resourse

There is no generally accepted picture of where, when, and how the domestic dog originated. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have failed to establish the time and precise place of origin because of lack of phylogenetic resolution in the so far studied control region (CR), and inadequate sampling. We therefore analyzed entire mitochondrial genomes for 169 dogs to obtain maximal phylogenetic resolution and the CR for 1,543 dogs across the Old World for a comprehensive picture of geographical diversity. Hereby, a detailed picture of the origins of the dog can for the first time be suggested. We obtained evidence that the dog has a single origin in time and space and an estimation of the time of origin, number of founders, and approximate region, which also gives potential clues about the human culture involved. The analyses showed that dogs universally share a common homogenous gene pool containing 10 major haplogroups. However, the full range of genetic diversity, all 10 haplogroups, was found only in southeastern Asia south of Yangtze River, and diversity decreased following a gradient across Eurasia, through seven haplogroups in Central China and five in North China and Southwest (SW)Asia, down to only four haplogroups in Europe. The mean sequence distance to ancestral haplotypes indicates an origin 5,400–16,300 years ago (ya) from at least 51 female wolf founders. These results indicate that the domestic dog originated in southern China less than 16,300 ya, from several hundred wolves. The place and time coincide approximately with the origin of rice agriculture, suggesting that the dogs may have originated among sedentary hunter-gatherers or early farmers, and the numerous founders indicate that wolf taming was an important culture trait.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division; National Basic Research Program of China; Chinese Academy of Sciences; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Swedish Research Council (SRC)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1625392
• Journal Information: Molecular Biology and Evolution, Journal Name: Molecular Biology and Evolution Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 26; ISSN 0737-4038
• Publisher: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English