title: Mitogenomic Meta-Analysis Identifies Two Phases of Migration in the History of Eastern Eurasian Sheep.
abstract: Despite much attention, history of sheep (Ovis aries) evolution, including its dating, demographic trajectory and geographic spread, remains controversial. To address these questions, we generated 45 complete and 875 partial mitogenomic sequences, and performed a meta-analysis of these and published ovine mitochondrial DNA sequences (n = 3,229) across Eurasia. We inferred that O. orientalis and O. musimon share the most recent female ancestor with O. aries at approximately 0.790 Ma (95% CI: 0.637-0.934 Ma) during the Middle Pleistocene, substantially predating the domestication event (∼8-11 ka). By reconstructing historical variations in effective population size, we found evidence of a rapid population increase approximately 20-60 ka, immediately before the Last Glacial Maximum. Analyses of lineage expansions showed two sheep migratory waves at approximately 4.5-6.8 ka (lineages A and B: ∼6.4-6.8 ka; C: ∼4.5 ka) across eastern Eurasia, which could have been influenced by prehistoric West-East commercial trade and deliberate mating of domestic and wild sheep, respectively. A continent-scale examination of lineage diversity and approximate Bayesian computation analyses indicated that the Mongolian Plateau region was a secondary center of dispersal, acting as a "transportation hub" in eastern Eurasia: Sheep from the Middle Eastern domestication center were inferred to have migrated through the Caucasus and Central Asia, and arrived in North and Southwest China (lineages A, B, and C) and the Indian subcontinent (lineages B and C) through this region. Our results provide new insights into sheep domestication, particularly with respect to origins and migrations to and from eastern Eurasia.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Hua
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Animal Biotechnology Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Animal Science, Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Rong
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Animal Biotechnology Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Animal Science, Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Jun
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qian-Jun
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China College of Life Sciences, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Li
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sheep and Goat Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Quan
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shandong Binzhou Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Binzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Qiang
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Guo
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Grass-Feeding Livestock Engineering Technology Research Center, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, China.
authors.forename: Eer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hehua
authors.affiliation: CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China Animal Breeding Division, National Animal Science Institute, Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Neena A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Gorkhali
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran-North Branch (ABRII), Rasht, Iran.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Farhad Vahidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Technology and Production Science, Bogor Agricultural University, Darmaga Campus, Bogor, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muladno
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Baltistan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Arifa N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Naqvi
authors.affiliation: Green Technology, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: Jonna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tabell
authors.affiliation: Green Technology, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Jokioinen, Finland.
authors.forename: Terhi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iso-Touru
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bruford
authors.affiliation: Green Technology, Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Jokioinen, Finland Department of Biology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kantanen
authors.affiliation: CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya h.jianlin@cgiar.org menghua.li@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China h.jianlin@cgiar.org menghua.li@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Meng-Hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D023281:Genomics; D005843:Geography; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012756:Sheep / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Ovis aries; colonization simulation; domestication; gene flow; meta-analysis; mitogenome; wild ancestor