The evolutionary history of dogs in the Americas
2018/07/05 by Máire Ní Leathlobhair, Angela Perri, Evan K. Irving-Pease +47 · 8 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Human-Animal Interaction Studies #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research #Evolutionary biology #Biology #Geography
paper · doi:10.1126/science.aao4776
openalex publication_date 2018/07/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract
Dogs were present in the Americas before the arrival of European colonists, but the origin and fate of these precontact dogs are largely unknown. We sequenced 71 mitochondrial and 7 nuclear genomes from ancient North American and Siberian dogs from time frames spanning ~9000 years. Our analysis indicates that American dogs were not derived from North American wolves. Instead, American dogs form a monophyletic lineage that likely originated in Siberia and dispersed into the Americas alongside people. After the arrival of Europeans, native American dogs almost completely disappeared, leaving a minimal genetic legacy in modern dog populations. The closest detectable extant lineage to precontact American dogs is the canine transmissible venereal tumor, a contagious cancer clone derived from an individual dog that lived up to 8000 years ago.
Citations
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