Gene. 2014 Jan 11. pii: S0378-1119(14)00008-0. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2013.12.066. [Epub ahead of print]
When and how did Bos indicus introgress into Mongolian cattle?
- 1College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
- 2Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA.
- 3Weinan Vocational and Technical College, Weinan, Shaanxi, 714000, China.
- 4College
of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University,
Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address:
leichuzhao1118@126.com.
Abstract
The
Mongolian cattle are one of the most widespread breeds with strictly
Bos taurus morphological features in northern China. In our current
study, we presented a diversity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop
region and Y chromosome SNP markers in 25 male and 8 female samples of
Mongolian cattle from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Western
China, and detected 21 B. taurus and four Bos indicus (zebu) mtDNA
haplotypes. Among four B. indicus mtDNA haplotypes, two haplotypes
belonged to I1 haplogroup and the remaining two haplotypes belonged to
I2 haplogroup. In contrast, all 25 male Mongolian cattle samples
revealed B. taurus Y chromosome haplotype and no B. indicus haplotypes
were found. Historical and archeological records indicate that B. taurus
was introduced to Xinjiang during the second millennium BC and B.
indicus appeared in this region by the second century AD. The two types
of cattle coexisted for many centuries in Xinjiang, as depicted in clay
and wooden figurines unearthed in the Astana cemetery in Turfan (3rd-8th
century AD). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the earliest B.
indicus introgression in the Mongolian cattle may have occurred during
the 2nd-7th centuries AD through the Silk Road around the Xinjiang
region. This conclusion differs from the previous hypothesis that zebu
introgression to Mongolian cattle happened during the Mongol
Empire era in the 13th century.
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