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.
Citation
Qiu , Q , Wang , L , Wang , K , Yang , Y , Ma , T , Wang , Z , Zhang , X , Ni , Z , Hou , F , Long , R , Abbott , R J , Lenstra , J & Liu , J 2015 , ' Yak whole-genome resequencing reveals domestication signatures and prehistoric population expansions ' , Nature Communications , vol. 6 , 10283 . https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10283
Publication
Nature Communications
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2041-1723Type
Journal article
Rights
© The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
Description
The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31322052 and 91331102), the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, 2013AA102505 3-2), Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2010DFA34610), International Collaboration 111 Projects of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, 985 and 211 Projects of Lanzhou University.Collections
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