TY - JOUR
T1 - Ancient and modern DNA reveal dynamics of domestication and cross-continental dispersal of the dromedary
AU - Almathen, Faisal
AU - Charruau, Pauline
AU - Mohandesan, Elmira
AU - Mwacharo, JM
AU - Orozco-TerWengel, Pablo
AU - Pitt, Daniel
AU - Abdussamad, Abdussamad M.
AU - Uerpmann, Margarethe
AU - Uerpmann, Hans Peter
AU - De Cupere, Bea
AU - Magee, Peter
AU - Alnaqeeb, Majed A.
AU - Salim, Bashir
AU - Raziq, Abdul
AU - Dessie, Tadelle
AU - Abdelhadi, Omer M.
AU - Banabazi, Mohammad H.
AU - Al-Eknah, Marzook
AU - Walzer, Chris
AU - Faye, Bernard
AU - Hofreiter, Michael
AU - Peters, Joris
AU - Hanotte, Olivier
AU - Burger, Pamela A.
PY - 2016/6/14
Y1 - 2016/6/14
N2 - Dromedaries have been fundamental to the development of human societies in arid landscapes and for long-distance trade across hostile hot terrains for 3,000 y. Today they continue to be an important livestock resource in marginal agro-ecological zones. However, the history of dromedary domestication and the influence of ancient trading networks on their genetic structure have remained elusive. We combined ancient DNA sequences of wild and early-domesticated dromedary samples from arid regions with nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial genotype information from 1,083 extant animals collected across the species' range. We observe little phylogeographic signal in the modern population, indicative of extensive gene flow and virtually affecting all regions except East Africa, where dromedary populations have remained relatively isolated. In agreement with archaeological findings, we identify wild dromedaries from the southeast Arabian Peninsula among the founders of the domestic dromedary gene pool. Approximate Bayesian computations further support the "restocking from the wild" hypothesis, with an initial domestication followed by introgression from individuals from wild, now-extinct populations. Compared with other livestock, which show a long history of gene flow with their wild ancestors, we find a high initial diversity relative to the native distribution of the wild ancestor on the Arabian Peninsula and to the brief coexistence of early-domesticated and wild individuals. This study also demonstrates the potential to retrieve ancient DNA sequences from osseous remains excavated in hot and dry desert environments.
AB - Dromedaries have been fundamental to the development of human societies in arid landscapes and for long-distance trade across hostile hot terrains for 3,000 y. Today they continue to be an important livestock resource in marginal agro-ecological zones. However, the history of dromedary domestication and the influence of ancient trading networks on their genetic structure have remained elusive. We combined ancient DNA sequences of wild and early-domesticated dromedary samples from arid regions with nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial genotype information from 1,083 extant animals collected across the species' range. We observe little phylogeographic signal in the modern population, indicative of extensive gene flow and virtually affecting all regions except East Africa, where dromedary populations have remained relatively isolated. In agreement with archaeological findings, we identify wild dromedaries from the southeast Arabian Peninsula among the founders of the domestic dromedary gene pool. Approximate Bayesian computations further support the "restocking from the wild" hypothesis, with an initial domestication followed by introgression from individuals from wild, now-extinct populations. Compared with other livestock, which show a long history of gene flow with their wild ancestors, we find a high initial diversity relative to the native distribution of the wild ancestor on the Arabian Peninsula and to the brief coexistence of early-domesticated and wild individuals. This study also demonstrates the potential to retrieve ancient DNA sequences from osseous remains excavated in hot and dry desert environments.
KW - Anthropogenic admixture
KW - Camelus dromedarius
KW - Demographic history
KW - Paleogenetics
KW - Wild dromedary
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84974782833&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1519508113
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1519508113
M3 - Article
C2 - 27162355
AN - SCOPUS:84974782833
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 113
SP - 6707
EP - 6712
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 24
ER -