Ancient DNA Analysis of the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian Arctic and Genetic Contribution to the Domestic Dog

2015/05/27 by Esther J. Lee, D. Andrew Merriwether, Alexei K. Kasparov +4 · 5 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Human-Animal Interaction Studies #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research #Canis #Ancient DNA #Arctic #Pleistocene #Range (aeronautics) #Arctic fox #Biology #Population #Zoology #Clade #Phylogenetic tree #Ecology #Geography #Paleontology #Lagopus #Gene #Genetics

paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125759

openalex publication_date 2015/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Modern Arctic Siberia provides a wealth of resources for archaeological, geological, and paleontological research to investigate the population dynamics of faunal communities from the Pleistocene, particularly as the faunal material coming from permafrost has proven suitable for genetic studies. In order to examine the history of the Canid species in the Siberian Arctic, we carried out genetic analysis of fourteen canid remains from various sites, including the well-documented Upper Paleolithic Yana RHS and Early Holocene Zhokhov Island sites. Estimated age of samples range from as recent as 1,700 years before present (YBP) to at least 360,000 YBP for the remains of the extinct wolf, Canis cf. variabilis. In order to examine the genetic affinities of ancient Siberian canids species to the domestic dog and modern wolves, we obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and compared them to published ancient and modern canid sequences. The older canid specimens illustrate affinities with pre-domestic dog/wolf lineages while others appear in the major phylogenetic clades of domestic dogs. Our results suggest a European origin of domestic dog may not be conclusive and illustrates an emerging complexity of genetic contribution of regional wolf breeds to the modern Canis gene pool.

Citations

• Radiocarbon Dating of δ18O-δD Plots in Late Pleistocene Ice-Wedges of the Duvanny Yar (Lower Kolyma River, Northern Yakutia)
• Multiple and Ancient Origins of the Domestic Dog
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• Ancient DNA Analysis Affirms the Canid from Altai as a Primitive Dog
• Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Ancient Canids Suggest a European Origin of Domestic Dogs
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• Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies
• Rise and Fall of the Beringian Steppe Bison
• The IGF1small dog haplotype is derived from Middle Eastern grey wolves
• Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog
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• mtDNA Data Indicate a Single Origin for Dogs South of Yangtze River, Less Than 16,300 Years Ago, from Numerous Wolves
• Osteological and Genetic Analysis of the Extinct Ezo Wolf (Canis Lupus Hattai) from Hokkaido Island, Japan
• MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Using Maximum Likelihood, Evolutionary Distance, and Maximum Parsimony Methods
• Phylogenetic Systematics of the North American Fossil Caninae (Carnivora: Canidae)
• Phylogeography of lions (Panthera leo ssp.) reveals three distinct taxa and a late Pleistocene reduction in genetic diversity
• Going Coastal: Shared Evolutionary History between Coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska Wolves (Canis lupus)
• Origin of the Red Wolf: Response to Nowak and Federoff and Gardener

Cited by

• The evolutionary history of dogs in the Americas
• Population Genomics of Domestication and Breed Development in Canines in the Context of Cognitive, Social, Behavioral, and Disease Traits
• Archaeological dogs from the Early Holocene Zhokhov site in the Eastern Siberian Arctic
• Dog colour patterns explained by modular promoters of ancient canid origin
• Domestication of the dog [wikipedia]

Related

• Ancient DNA Analysis Affirms the Canid from Altai as a Primitive Dog
• Genomes of Pleistocene Siberian Wolves Uncover Multiple Extinct Wolf Lineages
• Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition
• A 33,000-Year-Old Incipient Dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: Evidence of the Earliest Domestication Disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum
• Global Phylogeographic and Admixture Patterns in Grey Wolves and Genetic Legacy of An Ancient Siberian Lineage