Comparing the two, the origin of dogs may seem minuscule and unimportant but just how much do we know about our best friend? Some people agreed on the fact dogs came from wolves, aside that we only know dogs appeared around 15,000 to 100,000 years ago somewhere in Asia or Africa.
According to Dr. Greger Larson at University of Durham, England, it is currently improbable to trace when and where dogs originated from the DNA of modern dogs. Larson and twenty other authors have been working on a paper about the origins of dog domestication. Currently the team has analyzed 49,024 locations on dog DNA; working with 1,375 DNA samples from 121 breed, and 19 wolves.So far they have only been successful tracing back to about a hundred years.
Larson and his colleagues concluded on how modern dog breeding is making it more difficult to locate when or where dogs were first domesticated. In fact, dog breeding had been so mixed, that the genetic history for dogs became very obscured; with the exception of basenji, shar-pei, Saluki, Akita, Finnish spitz, and Eurasier bring slightly less mixed.
What Larson and his team found out was that, dogs that are most genetically distinct were not from the places where the oldest dog fossil was found. Larson expected if these breeds were closer genetically to the first domesticated dogs, they would be geographically closer to sites of early dog fossils or ancient dog breeds. However, their studies shows the more genetically distinct dogs had been geographically isolated quite recent in the history of domestication. For instance, dingoes, basenjis, and New Guinea singing dogs came from southeast Asia and southern Africa about 3,500 and 1,400 years ago.
Larson concluded that there is still hope to learn about the origin of dogs. People have burying their dogs for a long amount of history, thus somewhere, there really is a fossil of an ancient dog--we just have to find it.
I think dog breeding is one of the things we, as humans take for granted. We decide on the breed that we want for our own purposes, not knowing the consequences of our selfishness. In order to create a companion to cuddle and be dog show material--we have made our best friend lost his identity. Everyone kept saying how much they love their dogs, but just how much do we know about their history?
Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/science/dogs-genetic-roots-remain-obscure.html?_r=0
Related article: http://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200498354/barking-up-the-family-tree-american-dogs-have-surprising-genetic-roots
Jia, this article is very interesting and is a true testament to the power of genetic variation. From Great Danes to Chihuahuas the variety in types of dogs is truly astounding. Dogs have become a major component of the human culture, and I find it disappointing that we know so little about their history. However, this difficulty in tracing the histories of our modern species of dogs supports the impact of genetic variation. I hope that through meticulous research, the histories of dog species can be elaborated upon.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited about seeing this article because this is something I have wondered about for a long time. I always wondered how so many dogs that look so different all came about from one single ancestor. So I find this interesting and informative. Also, now I know whose studies I should follow to find out more about dog ancestry!
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never thought about this. I have a dog myself (she's half Yorkshire terrier and half poodle), but I've never really gave any thought to her family history. I would of assumed we knew more information about dog's history and where they originated since dogs are so common and humans love them. It's crazy how we can only trace back 100 years, when they've been around for about 15-100,000 years. Humans are breeding dogs for personal reasons and basically erasing their history in the process. This article makes me feel bad; I feel like we have essentially stripped dogs of their identities, just so families around the world can have the "perfect" pet.
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