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1: Science. 1997 Jun 13;276(5319):1687-9.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Science. 1997 Jun 13;276(5319):1647-8.
Science. 1997 Oct 10;278(5336):205-6; author reply 206-7.
Science. 1997 Oct 10;278(5336):205; author reply 206-7.
Comment on:
Science. 1997 Oct 10;278(5336):205-6; author reply 206-7.

Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog.

Vilà C, Savolainen P, Maldonado JE, Amorim IR, Rice JE, Honeycutt RL, Crandall KA, Lundeberg J, Wayne RK.

Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.

Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences were analyzed from 162 wolves at 27 localities worldwide and from 140 domestic dogs representing 67 breeds. Sequences from both dogs and wolves showed considerable diversity and supported the hypothesis that wolves were the ancestors of dogs. Most dog sequences belonged to a divergent monophyletic clade sharing no sequences with wolves. The sequence divergence within this clade suggested that dogs originated more than 100,000 years before the present. Associations of dog haplotypes with other wolf lineages indicated episodes of admixture between wolves and dogs. Repeated genetic exchange between dog and wolf populations may have been an important source of variation for artificial selection.

PMID: 9180076 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]