Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Molecular evidence for fat-tailed sheep domestication

  • SI Fat Tailed Sheep
  • Published:
Tropical Animal Health and Production Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The sheep is one of the most successful and widely spread domestic animals. Archaeological evidence traces the first domestic sheep back to the Near East region around 9,000 years ago. It is also known that soon after, the domesticated sheep started to flow out of the centre of origin and spread all over the ancient world following the expansion of agriculture. Throughout time, herders, nature elements and eventually some hybridization with different wild relatives produced a multitude of breeds. However, until the advent of the molecular genetics field, very little was known about the origins of most of those breeds. Two decades after the first genetic studies, we have gathered considerable information on the origins, phylogenetic relationships and patterns of genetic diversity of the sheep across the world. Indeed, the genetic studies confirmed the Near East region as the main centre of origin and also revealed other contributions from other regions. Specifically about the fat-tailed sheep, molecular genetics was also able to link their maternal origin to a specific group. So far, modern sheep have originated from five different maternal origins. Nonetheless, the technological advances of the DNA sequencing techniques are bringing more data that is showing the complexity of the domestication process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barthelme, J. W., 1985. Fisher-hunters and neolithic pastoralists in East Turkana, Kenya, (British Archaeological Reports, Oxford)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruford, M. W. and Townsend, S. J., 2006. Mitochondrial DNA diversity in modern sheep. In: M. A. Zeder, et al. (eds), Documenting domestication: new genetic and archaeological paradigms, (University of California Press, Berkeley), 306–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, S.-Y., Duanb, Z.-Y., Shaa, T., Xiangyub, J., Wub, S.-F. and Zhang, Y.-P., 2006. Origin, genetic diversity, and population structure of Chinese domestic sheep, Gene, 376, 216–223

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chessa, B., Pereira, F. and Arnaud, F., 2009. Revealing the history of sheep domestication using retrovirus integrations, Science, 324, 532–536

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton Brock, J. and Uerpmann, H.-P., 1974. The sheep of early Jericho, Journal ofArchaeological Science, 1, 261–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, J., 1993. The spread of domestic animals in Africa. In: T. Shaw, et al. (eds), The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns, (Routledge, New York), 61–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, J., 1999. A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. J. M. and Beckett, J. V., 1999. Animal husbandry and agricultural improvement: The archaeological evidence from animal bones and teeth, rural history, 10, 1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, H., 1971. The origin of the domestic animals of Africa, (Africana Publishing Corporation, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, H., 1985. The Awassi sheep with special reference to the improved dairy type, (FAO, Rome)

    Google Scholar 

  • Festa-Bianchet, M., 2000. A summary of discussion on the taxonomy of mountain ungulates and its conservation implications, Workshop on Caprinae taxonomy (Ankara, Turkey)

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodall, E., 1946. Domestic animals in rock art, Transactions of the Rhodesia Scientific Association, 41, 57–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, J., Du, L. X., Ma, Y. H., Guan, W. J., Li, H. B., Zhao, Q. J., Li, X. and Rao, S. Q., 2005. A novel maternal lineage revealed in sheep (Ovis aries), Animal Genetics, 36, 331–336

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hellborg, L. and Ellegren, H., 2004. Low levels of nucleotide diversity in mammalian Y chromosomes, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 21, 158–163

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henshilwood, C., 1996. A revised chronology for pastoralism in southernmost Africa: new evidence of sheep at c. 2000 b.p. from Blombos Cave, South Africa, Antiquity, 70, 945–949

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiendleder, S., Mainz, K., Plante, Y. and Lewalski, H., 1998. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicates that domestic sheep are derived from two different ancestral maternal sources: no evidence for contributions from urial and argali sheep, Journal of Heredity, 89, 113–120

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hiendleder, S., Kaupe, B., Wassmuth, R. and Janke, A., 2002. Molecular analysis of wild and domestic sheep questions current nomenclature and provides evidence for domestication from two different subspecies, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 269, 893–904

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horsburgh, K. A. and Rhines, A., 2010. Genetic characterization of an archaeological sheep assemblage from South Africa's Western Cape, Journal of Archaeological Science, 37, 2906–2910

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jerardino, A., 1999. A first account of fat-tailed sheep in the rock paintings of the Western Cape coast, South African Archaeological Bulletin, 54, 64–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kijas, J., Townley, D. and Dalrymple, B., 2009. A genome wide survey of SNP variation reveals the genetic structure of sheep breeds, PloS one, 4, e4668

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lawson, L. J. and Hewitt, G. M., 2002. Comparison of substitution rates in ZFX and ZFY introns of sheep and goat related species supports the hypothesis of male-biased mutation rates, Journal of Molecular Evolution, 54, 54–61

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Legge, T., 1996. The beginnings of caprine domestication. In: D. R. Harris (eds), The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia, (Smithsonian Institution Press, New York), 238–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Maddox, J. F., Davies, K. P. and Crawford, A. M., 2001. An enhanced linkage map of the sheep genome comprising more than 1000 loci, Genome Research, 11, 1275–1289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manhire, A. H., Parkington, J. E. and Robey, T. S., 1984. Stone tools and Sandveld settlement. In: M. Hall, et al. (eds), Frontiers: Southern African Archaeology Today, (BAR International Series, Cambridge), 111–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Manhire, A. H., Parkington, J. E., Mazel, A. D. and Maggs, T. M. O. C., 1986. Cattle, sheep and horses: a review of domestic animals in the rock art of southern Africa, South African Archaeological Bulletin (Goodwin Series), 5, 22–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, F., 1994. Archaeological Perspectives on East African pastoralism. In: E. Fratkin, et al. (eds), African Pastoralist Systems: An Integrated Approach, (Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, CO), 17–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, F., 2000. The origins and spread of domestic animals in East Africa. In: R. M. Blench and MacDonald, K. C. (eds), The origin and development of African livestock, (University College Press., London), 191–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, J. R. S., Hawken, R. J. and Kijas, J. W., 2004. Nucleotide diversity on the ovine Y chromosome, Animal Genetics, 35, 379–385

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, J. R. S., Hanotte, O., Drögemüller, C., Calvo, J., Godfrey, R., Coltman, D., Maddox, J. F., Marzanov, N., Kantanen, J. and Kijas, J. W., 2006. Globally dispersed Y chromosomal haplotypes in wild and domestic sheep, Animal Genetics, 37, 444–453

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, J. R. S., Cemal, I., Karaca, O., Gootwine, E. and Kijas, J. W., 2007. Five ovine mitochondrial lineages identified from sheep breeds of the near east, Genetics, 175, 1371–1379

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, J. R. S., Hiendleder, S. and Kijas, J. W., 2011. Haplogroup relationships between domestic and wild sheep resolved using a mitogenome panel, Heredity, 06:700-706. doi:10.1038/hdy.2010.122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oner, Y., Calvo, J. H. and Elmaci, C., 2010. Y chromosomal characterization of Turkish native sheep breeds, Livestock Science, doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2010.08.015

    Google Scholar 

  • Payen, E., Pailhoux, E., Abou Merhi, R., Gianquinto, L., Kirszenbaum, M., Locatelli, A. and Cotinot, C., 1996. Characterization of ovine SRY transcript and developmental expression of genes involved in sexual differentiation, International Journal of Developmental Biology, 40, 567–575

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pedrosa, S., Uzun, M., Arranz, J.-J., Gutiérrez-Gil, B., San Primitivo, F. and Bayón, Y., 2005. Evidence of three maternal lineages in near eastern sheep supporting multiple domestication events, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 272, 2211–2217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira, F., Davis, S. J. M., Pereira, L., McEvoy, B., Bradley, D. G. and Amorim, A., 2006. Genetic signatures of a Mediterranean influence in Iberian Peninsula sheep husbandry, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 23, 1420–1426

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peter, C., Bruford, M. and Perez, T., 2007. Genetic diversity and subdivision of 57 European and Middle-Eastern sheep breeds, Animal Genetics, 38, 37–44

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Phillipson, D. W., 1977. The Later Prehistory of Eastern and Southern Africa, (Heinemann, London)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezaei, H. R., Naderi, S., Chintauan-Marquier, I. C., Taberlet, P., Virk, A. T., Naghash, H. R., Rioux, D., Kaboli, M. and Pompanon, F., 2010. Evolution and taxonomy of the wild species of the genus Ovis (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Bovidae), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 54, 315–326

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robertshaw, P. T., 1978. The origin of pastoralism in the Cape, South African Historical Journal, 10, 117–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryder, M., 1991. Domestication, history and breed evolution in sheep, (Elsevier, Amsterdam)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryder, M. L., 1983. Sheep and Man, (Duckworth, London)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryder, M. L., 1984. Sheep. In: I. L. Mason (eds), Evolution of domesticated animals, (Longman, London), 63–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweitzer, F. R. and Scott, K. J., 1973. Early occurrence of domestic sheep in sub-Saharan Africa, Nature, 241, 547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sealy, J. and Yates, R., 1994. The chronology of the introduction of pastoralism to the Cape, South Africa, Antiquity, 68, 58–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Tapio, M., Marzanov, N., Ozerov, M., Ćinkulov, M., Gonzarenko, G., Kiselyova, T., Murawski, M., Viinalass, H. and Kantanen, J., 2006. Sheep Mitochondrial DNA Variation in European, Caucasian, and Central Asian Areas, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 23, 1776–1783

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tapio, M., Ozerov, M., Tapio, I., Toro, M., Marzanov, N., Cinkulov, M., Goncharenko, G., Kiselyova, T., Murawski, M. and Kantanen, J., 2010. Microsatellite-based genetic diversity and population structure of domestic sheep in northern Eurasia, BMC Genetics, 11, 76

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uzun, M., Gutiérrez-Gil, B., Arranz, J.-J., San Primitivo, F., Saatci, M., Kaya, M. and Bayón, Y., 2006. Genetic relationships among Turkish sheep, Genetics, Selection and Evolution, 38, 513–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vavilov, N., 1992. Origin and Geography of Cultivated Plants, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinnicombe, P., 1976. People of the Eland: Rock Paintings of the Drakensberg Bushmen as a Reflection of their Life and Thought, (University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa)

    Google Scholar 

  • Webley, L., 2001. The re-excavation of Spoegrivier Cave on the west coast of southern Africa, Annals of the Eastern Cape Museums, 2, 19–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, N. J. and Phua, S. H., 1996. Variation in the control region sequence of the sheep mitochondrial genome, Animal Genetics, 27, 25–33

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeder, M., Emshwiller, E., Smith, B. D. and Bradley, D. G., 2006. Documenting domestication: the intersection of genetics and agriculture, Trends in Genetics, 22, 139–155

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeuner, F. E., 1963. A History of Domesticated Animals, (Hutchinson, London)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

SC is the recipient of a FCT individual fellowship grant SFRH/BPD/46082/2008.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto (CIBIO-UP), Rua Padre Armando Quintas 7, 4485–661, Vairão, Portugal

    Joana Rocha, Shanyuan Chen & Albano Beja-Pereira

Authors
  1. Joana Rocha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shanyuan Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Albano Beja-Pereira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Albano Beja-Pereira.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rocha, J., Chen, S. & Beja-Pereira, A. Molecular evidence for fat-tailed sheep domestication. Trop Anim Health Prod 43, 1237–1243 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-9854-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-9854-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation