Ancient cattle genomics, origins, and rapid turnover in the Fertile Crescent.
Marta Pereira VerdugoVictoria E MullinAmelie ScheuValeria MattiangeliKevin G DalyPierpaolo Maisano DelserAndrew J HareJoachim BurgerMatthew James CollinsRon KehatiPaula HesseDeirdre FultonEberhard W SauerAzadeh Fatemeh MohasebHossein DavoudiRoya KhazaeliJohanna LhuillierClaude RapinSaeed EbrahimiMutalib KhasanovS M Farhad VahidiDavid E MacHughOkan ErtuğrulChaido Koukouli-ChrysanthakiAdamantios SampsonGeorge KazantzisIoannis KontopoulosJelena BulatovicIvana StojanovićAbdesalam MikdadNorbert BeneckeJörg LinstädterMikhail V SablinRobin BendreyLionel GourichonBenjamin S ArbuckleMarjan MashkourDavid OrtonLiora Kolska HorwitzMatthew D TeasdaleDaniel G BradleyPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2020)
Genome-wide analysis of 67 ancient Near Eastern cattle, Bos taurus, remains reveals regional variation that has since been obscured by admixture in modern populations. Comparisons of genomes of early domestic cattle to their aurochs progenitors identify diverse origins with separate introgressions of wild stock. A later region-wide Bronze Age shift indicates rapid and widespread introgression of zebu, Bos indicus, from the Indus Valley. This process was likely stimulated at the onset of the current geological age, ~4.2 thousand years ago, by a widespread multicentury drought. In contrast to genome-wide admixture, mitochondrial DNA stasis supports that this introgression was male-driven, suggesting that selection of arid-adapted zebu bulls enhanced herd survival. This human-mediated migration of zebu-derived genetics has continued through millennia, altering tropical herding on each continent.
Keyphrases
- genome wide
- mitochondrial dna
- copy number
- dna methylation
- climate change
- endothelial cells
- magnetic resonance
- loop mediated isothermal amplification
- south africa
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- gene expression
- bone mineral density
- computed tomography
- free survival
- body composition
- magnetic resonance imaging
- pluripotent stem cells