title: Yak whole-genome resequencing reveals domestication signatures and prehistoric population expansions.
abstract: Yak domestication represents an important episode in the early human occupation of the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The precise timing of domestication is debated and little is known about the underlying genetic changes that occurred during the process. Here we investigate genome variation of wild and domestic yaks. We detect signals of selection in 209 genes of domestic yaks, several of which relate to behaviour and tameness. We date yak domestication to 7,300 years before present (yr BP), most likely by nomadic people, and an estimated sixfold increase in yak population size by 3,600 yr BP. These dates coincide with two early human population expansions on the QTP during the early-Neolithic age and the late-Holocene, respectively. Our findings add to an understanding of yak domestication and its importance in the early human occupation of the QTP.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Lizhong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory for Bio-resources and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Yongzhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory for Bio-resources and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Zefu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Zhengqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Fujiang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Ruijun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 8, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lenstra
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.|MOE Key Laboratory for Bio-resources and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Jianquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics*; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D023281:Genomics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011157:Population Dynamics