Molecular genetic analysis of ancient cattle bones excavated from archaeological sites in Jeju, Korea.
Ancient cattle bones were excavated from archaeological sites in Jeju, Korea. We used molecular genetic techniques to identify the species and establish its relationship to extant cattle breeds. Ancient DNA was extracted from four sources: a humerus (Gonae site, A.D. 700-800), two fragments of radius, and a tooth (Kwakji site, A.D. 0-900). The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop regions were cloned, sequenced, and compared with previously reported sequences of various cattle breeds (9 Asian, 8 European, and 3 African). The results revealed that these bones were of the breed, Bos taurus, and a phylogenetic tree indicated that the four cattle bones formed a monophyletic group with Jeju native black cattle. However, the patterns of sequence variation and reports from archaeological sites suggest that a few wild cattle, with a different maternal lineage, may have existed on Jeju Island. Our results will contribute to further studies of the origin of Jeju native cattle and the possible existence of local wild cattle.
Kim
Jae-Hwan
JH
Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Cheju National University, Jeju 690-756, Korea.
Oh
Ju-Hyung
JH
Song
Ji-Hoon
JH
Jeon
Jin-Tae
JT
Han
Sang-Hyun
SH
Jung
Yong-Hwan
YH
Oh
Moon-You
MY
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001842:Bone and Bones; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007723:Korea; D008967:Molecular Biology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial