Ancient goat genomes reveal mosaic domestication in the Fertile Crescent.
Kevin G DalyPierpaolo Maisano DelserVictoria E MullinAmelie ScheuValeria MattiangeliMatthew D TeasdaleAndrew J HareJoachim BurgerMarta Pereira VerdugoMatthew James CollinsRon KehatiCevdet Merih ErekGuy Bar-OzFrancois PompanonTristan CumerCanan ÇakırlarAzadeh Fatemeh MohasebDelphine DecruyenaereHossein DavoudiÖzlem ÇevikGary RollefsonJean-Denis VigneRoya KhazaeliHoma FathiSanaz Beizaee DoostRoghayeh Rahimi SorkhaniAli Akbar VahdatiEberhard W SauerHossein Azizi KharanaghiSepideh MaziarBoris GasparianRon PinhasiLouise MartinDavid OrtonBenjamin S ArbuckleNorbert BeneckeAndrea ManicaLiora Kolska HorwitzMarjan MashkourDaniel G BradleyPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2018)
Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or was a singular process. We generated genomic data from 83 ancient goats (51 with genome-wide coverage) from Paleolithic to Medieval contexts throughout the Near East. Our findings demonstrate that multiple divergent ancient wild goat sources were domesticated in a dispersed process that resulted in genetically and geographically distinct Neolithic goat populations, echoing contemporaneous human divergence across the region. These early goat populations contributed differently to modern goats in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We also detect early selection for pigmentation, stature, reproduction, milking, and response to dietary change, providing 8000-year-old evidence for human agency in molding genome variation within a partner species.