Origin of Domesticated Dogs Unriddled

A recent study in the genome of wolves and dogs has concluded that their origin can be traced back to Asia, specifically region to the south of the Yangtze River. Data in the genetics, the behavior, and the morphology of dogs has already determined that dogs have descended from wolves. However, researchers have never been able to accurately pinpoint the original domestication of wolves into dogs. Comparative studies of the species’ Y chromosome were done and compared to the genome of wolves indigenous to that area. These studies were then further compared again mitochondrial DNA evidence. Previous studies have suggested that the domestication of dogs is tied to a Middle East origin, also citing genetic studies as their evidence. Current researchers critique these past studies saying that their genetic studies only show about half of the gene pool matching to that region. However, approximately half of the gene pool is shared by dogs and wolves in regions all over the world. Only in the Asian region south of the Yangtze river does the wolf genome encompass the entire gene pool available.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/read/genetic_study_confirms_first_dogs_came_from_east_asia-82029 (Article Link)