title: Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog.
abstract: Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences were analyzed from 162 wolves at 27 localities worldwide and from 140 domestic dogs representing 67 breeds. Sequences from both dogs and wolves showed considerable diversity and supported the hypothesis that wolves were the ancestors of dogs. Most dog sequences belonged to a divergent monophyletic clade sharing no sequences with wolves. The sequence divergence within this clade suggested that dogs originated more than 100,000 years before the present. Associations of dog haplotypes with other wolf lineages indicated episodes of admixture between wolves and dogs. Repeated genetic exchange between dog and wolf populations may have been an important source of variation for artificial selection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vilà
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savolainen
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Honeycutt
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lundeberg
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wayne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001947:Breeding; D002335:Carnivora / Q000235:genetics*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D004285:Dogs / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006239:Haplotypes; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial