Taming the past: ancient DNA and the study of animal domestication

TY - JOUR

T1 - Taming the past

T2 - ancient DNA and the study of animal domestication

AU - MacHugh, David E.

AU - Larson, Greger

AU - Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre

PY - 2017/2/8

Y1 - 2017/2/8

N2 - During the last decade, ancient DNA research has been revolutionized by the availability of increasingly powerful DNA sequencing and ancillary genomics technologies, giving rise to the new field of paleogenomics. In this review, we show how our understanding of the genetic basis of animal domestication and the origins and dispersal of livestock and companion animals during the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods is being rapidly transformed through new scientific knowledge generated with paleogenomic methods. These techniques have been particularly informative in revealing high-resolution patterns of artificial and natural selection and evidence for significant admixture between early domestic animal populations and their wild congeners.

AB - During the last decade, ancient DNA research has been revolutionized by the availability of increasingly powerful DNA sequencing and ancillary genomics technologies, giving rise to the new field of paleogenomics. In this review, we show how our understanding of the genetic basis of animal domestication and the origins and dispersal of livestock and companion animals during the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods is being rapidly transformed through new scientific knowledge generated with paleogenomic methods. These techniques have been particularly informative in revealing high-resolution patterns of artificial and natural selection and evidence for significant admixture between early domestic animal populations and their wild congeners.

U2 - 10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022747

DO - 10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022747

M3 - Review

C2 - 27813680

SN - 2165-8102

VL - 5

SP - 329

EP - 351

JO - Annual Review of Animal Biosciences

JF - Annual Review of Animal Biosciences

M1 - 6

ER -