Reader Comments
Post a new comment on this article
Post Your Discussion Comment
Please follow our guidelines for comments and review our competing interests policy. Comments that do not conform to our guidelines will be promptly removed and the user account disabled. The following must be avoided:
- Remarks that could be interpreted as allegations of misconduct
- Unsupported assertions or statements
- Inflammatory or insulting language
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to flag this posting; we review flagged postings on a regular basis.
closeAuthor Summary
Posted by dmachugh on 17 Feb 2010 at 12:43 GMT
The origin of modern domestic cattle from the extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) has been well documented by archaeological and genetic studies. In particular, genetic studies have illuminated the ancestry of domestic cattle, indicating that the domestication of European Bos taurus animals from aurochsen populations occurred within the Neolithic Near East some 10,000 years ago, with possible localised domestication events occurring elsewhere. Inferences from these investigations have been based largely on the analysis of partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences generated from modern taurine and zebu animals, with limited sequence data from ancient aurochsen samples. Analysis of complete mtDNA sequences has, moreover, been entirely limited to modern animals. Recent developments in DNA sequencing technologies, however, are affording new opportunities for the examination of genetic material retrieved from extinct mammalian species, revealing aspects of their evolutionary history and, in some cases, biologically-important DNA sequence variation. Here, we present DNA sequence analysis of the first complete aurochs mitochondrial genome from an archaeologically-verified aurochs bone sample, radiocarbon-dated to 6,738 ± 68 calibrated years before present (yBP), using both conventional Sanger- and high-throughput-based DNA sequencing technologies. We have analysed this complete aurochs mitochondrial genome sequence alongside previously-published complete mtDNA sequences generated from modern cattle samples and discuss our findings in light of the current understanding of the ancestry of domestic cattle and the evolutionary history of B. primigenius.