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MBE Advance Access originally published online on August 24, 2005
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(12):2541-2551; doi:10.1093/molbev/msi248
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

Research Article

Mitochondrial DNA from Prehistoric Canids Highlights Relationships Between Dogs and South-East European Wolves

Fabio Verginelli*, Cristian Capelli{dagger}, Valentina Coia{ddagger}, Marco Musiani§, Mario Falchetti||, Laura Ottini||, Raffaele Palmirotta*,1, Antonio Tagliacozzo, Iacopo De Grossi Mazzorin# and Renato Mariani-Costantini*

* Department of Oncology and Neurosciences, University G. d'Annunzio, and Center of Excellence on Aging (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy; {dagger} Institute of Legal Medicine, Catholic University of S. Cuore, Rome, Italy; {ddagger} Department of Animal and Human Biology, University "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy; § Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; || Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology (Section of History of Medicine), University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology and Archeozoology, Special Superintendence to the Luigi Pigorini National Prehistoric-Ethnographic Museum, Rome, Italy; and # Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Lecce, Lecce, Italy

E-mail: rmc{at}unich.it.

The question of the origins of the dog has been much debated. The dog is descended from the wolf that at the end of the last glaciation (the archaeologically hypothesized period of dog domestication) was one of the most widespread among Holarctic mammals. Scenarios provided by genetic studies range from multiple dog-founding events to a single origin in East Asia. The earliest fossil dogs, dated {approx}17–12,000 radiocarbon (14C) years ago (YA), were found in Europe and in the Middle East. Ancient DNA (a-DNA) evidence could contribute to the identification of dog-founder wolf populations. To gain insight into the relationships between ancient European wolves and dogs we analyzed a 262-bp mitochondrial DNA control region fragment retrieved from five prehistoric Italian canids ranging in age from {approx}15,000 to {approx}3,000 14C YA. These canids were compared to a worldwide sample of 547 purebred dogs and 341 wolves. The ancient sequences were highly diverse and joined the three major clades of extant dog sequences. Phylogenetic investigations highlighted relationships between the ancient sequences and geographically widespread extant dog matrilines and between the ancient sequences and extant wolf matrilines of mainly East European origin. The results provide a-DNA support for the involvement of European wolves in the origins of the three major dog clades. Genetic data also suggest multiple independent domestication events. East European wolves may still reflect the genetic variation of ancient dog-founder populations.

Key Words: dog • wolf • mtDNA • ancient DNA • archaeozoology • evolution


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