title: Ancient DNA analysis affirms the canid from Altai as a primitive dog.
abstract: The origin of domestic dogs remains controversial, with genetic data indicating a separation between modern dogs and wolves in the Late Pleistocene. However, only a few dog-like fossils are found prior to the Last Glacial Maximum, and it is widely accepted that the dog domestication predates the beginning of agriculture about 10,000 years ago. In order to evaluate the genetic relationship of one of the oldest dogs, we have isolated ancient DNA from the recently described putative 33,000-year old Pleistocene dog from Altai and analysed 413 nucleotides of the mitochondrial control region. Our analyses reveal that the unique haplotype of the Altai dog is more closely related to modern dogs and prehistoric New World canids than it is to contemporary wolves. Further genetic analyses of ancient canids may reveal a more exact date and centre of domestication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genomic Diversity and Evolution, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Anna S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Druzhkova
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Thalmann
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Trifonov
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Nadezhda V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Vorobieva
authors.forename: Nikolai D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Ovodov
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Graphodatsky
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wayne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics*; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005843:Geography; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D019596:Wolves / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004247:DNA