Endogenous Retroviral Insertions Indicate a Secondary Introduction of Domestic
Sheep Lineages to the Caucasus and Central Asia between the Bronze and Iron Age
#MMPMID28632161
Schroeder O
; Benecke N
; Frölich K
; Peng Z
; Kaniuth K
; Sverchkov L
; Reinhold S
; Belinskiy A
; Ludwig A
Genes (Basel)
2017[Jun]; 8
(6
): ? PMID28632161
show ga
Sheep were one of the first livestock species domesticated by humans. After
initial domestication in the Middle East they were spread across Eurasia. The
modern distribution of endogenous Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus insertions in
domestic sheep breeds suggests that over the course of millennia, successive
introductions of improved lineages and selection for wool quality occurred in the
Mediterranean region and most of Asia. Here we present a novel ancient DNA
approach using data of endogenous retroviral insertions in Bronze and Iron Age
domestic sheep from the Caucasus and Pamir mountain areas. Our findings support a
secondary introduction of wool sheep from the Middle East between the Late Bronze
Age and Iron Age into most areas of Eurasia.
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