title: Divergent mtDNA lineages of goats in an Early Neolithic site, far from the initial domestication areas.
abstract: Goats were among the first farm animals domesticated, approximately 10,500 years ago, contributing to the rise of the "Neolithic revolution." Previous genetic studies have revealed that contemporary domestic goats (Capra hircus) show far weaker intercontinental population structuring than other livestock species, suggesting that goats have been transported more extensively. However, the timing of these extensive movements in goats remains unknown. To address this question, we analyzed mtDNA sequences from 19 ancient goat bones (7,300-6,900 years old) from one of the earliest Neolithic sites in southwestern Europe. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that two highly divergent goat lineages coexisted in each of the two Early Neolithic layers of this site. This finding indicates that high mtDNA diversity was already present >7,000 years ago in European goats, far from their areas of initial domestication in the Near East. These results argue for substantial gene flow among goat populations dating back to the early neolithisation of Europe and for a dual domestication scenario in the Near East, with two independent but essentially contemporary origins (of both A and C domestic lineages) and several more remote and/or later origins.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Génomique des Populations et Biodiversité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5553, Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53 F-38041 Grenoble Cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Jean-Denis
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Vigne
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Helmer
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hodgins
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miquel
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hänni
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luikart
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taberlet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics*; D001106:Archaeology; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D051456:Gene Flow; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006041:Goats / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D008877:Middle East; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial