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Researchers compared the DNA of dogs and wolves to try to identify genes involved in domestication. They want to understand how a wolf-like animal, once nociceptive, has evolved for tens of thousands of years to become beloved members of human families.
Amanda Pendleton, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan in the United States, was reviewing current research on domestication and noticed something special about the DNA of modern dogs: in some places, it did not seem to match the DNA of ancient dogs
"says Pendleton,
. Purebred dogs, which first appeared about 300 years ago, do not fully reflect the genetic diversity of dogs in the world, she explains
. the dogs of the world are so-called village dogs, who wander, feed on food near human populations and can mate freely. In order to obtain a more complete picture of the genetic changes at play in the evolution of dogs, the team examined 43 village dogs from India, Portugal and Vietnam.
Armed with DNA from village dogs, dogs found at burial sites around 5000 years ago, and wolves, they used statistical methods to unravel the genetic changes resulting from early domestication efforts. Compared to those badociated with the development of specific breeds.
This new genetic journal revealed 246 candidate domestication sites, most of them identified for the first time by their laboratory.
On closer examination, the researchers noticed that these genes influenced brain function, development, and behavior. In addition, the genes they found seemed to support what is known as the domestication hypothesis of the neural crest.
"The hypothesis of the neural crest postulates that the phenotypes we see in domesticated animals return to the jaw, staining, tame behavior – can be explained by genetic changes that act in a certain type of cell at developmental processes called neural crest cells, which are incredibly important and contribute to all kinds of adult tissue, "said Pendleton
.the sites they identified contained genes active in development and migration neural crest cells.
One gene in particular, referred to as RAI1, which was the highest ranked gene in the study.
Researchers investigated the role of the gene role in neurodevelopmental disorders. In humans, RAI1 gene modifications result in one of two syndromes – Smith-Magensis syndrome if RAI1 is absent or Potocki-Lupski syndrome if RAI1 is duplicated
In dogs, modifications of this gene may explain why domestic dogs are awake during the day rather than at night like most wolves. Other genes in dogs have overlaps with human syndromes resulting in inadequate development of neural crest cells, including facial deformities and hypersociability.
These parallels between dogs and humans are what makes dog genetics valuable.
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