Genetics and animal domestication: new windows on an elusive process

Abstract

Domesticated animals are universally familiar. How, when, where and why they became domesticated is less well understood. The genetic revolution of the past few decades has facilitated novel insights into a field that previously was principally the domain of archaeozoologists. Although some of the conclusions drawn from genetic data have proved to be contentious, many studies have significantly altered or refined our understanding of past human animal relationships. This review seeks not only to discuss the wider concerns and ramifications of genetic approaches to the study of animal domestication but also to provide a broader theoretical framework for understanding the process itself. More specifically, we discuss issues related to the terminology associated with domestication, the possibility of domestication genes, and the promise and problems of genetics to answer the fundamental questions associated with domestication.

Patterns of East Asian pig domestication, migration, and turnover revealed by modern and ancient DNA

“…The study of domestication has been transformed by biomolecular data that have provided new insights, not least of which has been the general conclusion that animal domestication occurred more often and in more places than had been suggested by traditional archaeological evidence (3,4). Recent publications have sought to further explore the domestication of pigs using both archaeological (5)(6)(7)(8) and genetic approaches (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

Complex population structure in African village dogs and its implications for inferring dog domestication history

“…They were the first domesticated species, serve as valuable companions and service animals, and have been bred to exhibit more phenotypic diversity than any other mammal (1)(2)(3). Dogs were probably domesticated from Eurasian wolves at least 15,000-40,000 years ago (4-6), although the process by which domestication took place, including the specific selected traits and the manner in which selection was performed, is very poorly understood (7,8).…”

Wildlife Conservation: Is Domestication a Solution?

“…Even though domestication is probably studied for centuries [1 , 20], there is still no consensus about its deinition [21][22][23]. Some examples are provided in the Table . The lack of consensus on a single deinition is partly due to the inherent diiculty in assigning static terms to a process involving long-term and continuous change [22].…”

“…Some examples are provided in the Table . The lack of consensus on a single deinition is partly due to the inherent diiculty in assigning static terms to a process involving long-term and continuous change [22]. In the present chapter, domestication is deined as a long and endless process during which captive animals become gradually adapted to both humans and captive conditions [2 ].…”

“…"ccording to most deinitions [22,[32][33][34]3 ], a domesticated species is a group of animals bred in captivity and modiied from their wild ancestors (Table ). However, wild/domesticated should not be considered as complementary such as true/false or dead/alive, because they represent the two extremes of a process and not a simple dichotomy [22]. In other words, no clear threshold separates wild from domesticated animals [35].…”