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Multiple and Ancient Origins of the Domestic Dog
Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences were analyzed from 162 wolves at 27 localities worldwide and from 140 domestic dogs representing 67 breeds. Sequences from both dogs and wolves showed considerable diversity and supported the hypothesis that wolves were the ancestors of dogs. Most dog sequences belonged to a divergent monophyletic clade sharing no sequences with wolves. The sequence divergence within this clade suggested that dogs originated more than 100,000 years before the present. Associations of dog haplotypes with other wolf lineages indicated episodes of admixture between wolves and dogs. Repeated genetic exchange between dog and wolf populations may have been an important source of variation for artificial selection.
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REFERENCES AND NOTES
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We amplified the entire canid control region with primers in (6) and the following primers: L16462 (5'-CATACTAACGTGGGGGTTAC-3'), H222 (5′-A- AACTATATGTCCTGAAACC-3′), L296 (5′-ATACAAACCCCCCTTACC-3′), and H652 (5′-AAGGCTAGGACCAAACCT-3′). The primer numbering refers to their approximate location in the human mitochondrial genome [
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We thank P. Taberlet for providing wolf sequences from France and Poland and J. Castroviejo, Grupo Lobo-Portugal, E. Geffen, and many others for their help in obtaining samples. C.V. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, and I.R.A. was supported by a fellowship from Junta Nacional de Investigasão Cientı́fica e Tecnológica, Portugal. This research was supported in part by NSF grants to R.L.H. (DEB-9208022) and R.K.W. (BSR-9020282) and by a Sloan Young Investigator Award to K.A.C.
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Published In
Science
Volume 276 | Issue 5319
13 June 1997
13 June 1997
Submission history
Received: 10 February 1997
Accepted: 28 April 1997
Published in print: 13 June 1997
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- Carles Vilà et al.
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