title: Microsatellite diversity suggests different histories for Mediterranean and Northern European cattle populations.
abstract: Based on archaeological evidence, the spread of agropastoralism across Europe followed two main paths: the Danubian route, along which Neolithic farmers expanded north across the central European plains; and the Mediterranean route, where migration occurred along the coast of the Mediterranean sea. Here we examine 20 cattle breeds from the continent and assess the genetic diversity levels and relationships among the breeds using 19 microsatellite markers. Additionally, we show evidence that concords with two distinct cattle migrations from the Near East, and also demonstrate that Mediterranean cattle breeds may have had more recent input from both the Near East and Africa.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cytogenetics, ICBAS, Abel Salazar Institute for Biomedical Sciences, CECA, Center for the Study of Animal Sciences, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cymbron
authors.forename: Abigail R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isabel Malheiro
authors.forename: Jean-Denis
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Vigne
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005060:Europe; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity