title: When and how did Bos indicus introgress into Mongolian cattle?
abstract: The Mongolian cattle are one of the most widespread breeds with strictly Bos taurus morphological features in northern China. In our current study, we presented a diversity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region and Y chromosome SNP markers in 25 male and 8 female samples of Mongolian cattle from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Western China, and detected 21 B. taurus and four Bos indicus (zebu) mtDNA haplotypes. Among four B. indicus mtDNA haplotypes, two haplotypes belonged to I1 haplogroup and the remaining two haplotypes belonged to I2 haplogroup. In contrast, all 25 male Mongolian cattle samples revealed B. taurus Y chromosome haplotype and no B. indicus haplotypes were found. Historical and archeological records indicate that B. taurus was introduced to Xinjiang during the second millennium BC and B. indicus appeared in this region by the second century AD. The two types of cattle coexisted for many centuries in Xinjiang, as depicted in clay and wooden figurines unearthed in the Astana cemetery in Turfan (3rd-8th century AD). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the earliest B. indicus introgression in the Mongolian cattle may have occurred during the 2nd-7th centuries AD through the Silk Road around the Xinjiang region. This conclusion differs from the previous hypothesis that zebu introgression to Mongolian cattle happened during the Mongol Empire era in the 13th century.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiangpeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Yunsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Jieping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Weinan Vocational and Technical College, Weinan, Shaanxi, 714000, China.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Ruihua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xianyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address: leichuzhao1118@126.com.
authors.forename: Chuzhao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008986:Mongolia; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D014998:Y Chromosome
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Archeology; BIN; BTA; Bos indicus; Bos taurus; Mongolian cattle; Y chromosome; mitochondrial DNA; mtDNA