Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 16082
• Main Authors: Botigué, Laura R., Song, Shiya, Scheu, Amelie, Gopalan, Shyamalika, Pendleton, Amanda L., Oetjens, Matthew, Taravella, Angela M., Seregély, Timo, Zeeb-Lanz, Andrea, Arbogast, Rose-Marie, Bobo, Dean, Daly, Kevin, Unterländer, Martina, Burger, Joachim, Kidd, Jeffrey M., Veeramah, Krishna R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.07.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 45; 45/23; 631/181/457; 631/208/212/2304; Animals; Archaeology and Prehistory; Biological Evolution; Continuity; Copy number; DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics; Dogs; Dogs - genetics; Domestication; Environmental studies; Extreme values; Farming; Farms; Genetic Variation; Genome; Genomes; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Mutation; Neolithic; Phylogeography; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social Anthropology and ethnology; Starch; Stone Age
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16082

Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication to 20,000–40,000 years ago. Interestingly, we do not observe the extreme copy number expansion of the AMY2B gene characteristic of modern dogs that has previously been proposed as an adaptation to a starch-rich diet driven by the widespread adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic. The European continent is thought to have played a major role in the origins of modern dogs. Here, analysing two ancient dog genomes from Germany, the authors find significant genetic continuity throughout the Neolithic period and time dog domestication to ∼20,000–40,000 years ago.