Genomic analyses of Asiatic Mouflon in Iran provide insights into the domestication and evolution of sheep

Wang, Dong-Feng; Orozco-terWengel, Pablo; Li, Meng-Hua; Lv, Feng-Hua

doi:10.1101/2023.10.06.561316

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Previous work reported that ASM was the wild sheep lineage genetically closest to DOM, relative to other wild sheep, implying that ASM could have been the wild source of domestic sheep [42][43][44][45]. Here we found that ANM and CYM cluster with EUM and DOM, with ASM as outgroup, a pattern supported by MDS, f 3 and f 4 statistics.…”

Section: Phylogenetic Relationships Between Anatolian and Cyprian Mou...supporting

confidence: 80%

Population genomic history of the endangered Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons in relation to worldwide wild, feral and domestic sheep lineages

Atağ,

Kaptan,

Yüncü

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Once widespread in their homelands, Anatolian mouflon (Ovis gmelini anatolica) and Cyprian mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion) were driven to near extinction during the 20th century and are currently listed as endangered populations by the IUCN. While the exact origins of these lineages remain unclear, they have been suggested to be close relatives of domestic sheep or remnants of proto-domestic sheep groups. Here, we study whole genome sequences of n=5 Anatolian mouflons and n=10 Cyprian mouflons in terms of population history and diversity, relative to eight other extant sheep lineages. We find reciprocal genetic affinity between Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons and domestic sheep, higher than all other studied wild sheep genomes, including the Iranian mouflon (Ovis gmelini). Despite similar recent population dynamics, Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons exhibit disparate diversity levels, which can potentially be attributed to founder effects, island isolation, introgression from domestic lineages, or different bottleneck dynamics. The lower relative mutation load found in Cyprian compared to Anatolian mouflons suggests the purging of recessive deleterious variants in the former. This agrees with estimates of a long-term small effective population size in the Cyprian mouflon. Both subspecies harbor considerable numbers of runs of homozygosity (ROH) blocks <2 Mb, which reflects the effect of small population size. Expanding our analyses to worldwide wild and feralOvisgenomes, we observe varying viability metrics among different lineages, and a limited consistency between viability metrics and conservation status. Factors such as recent inbreeding, introgression, and unique population dynamics may contribute to the observed disparities.

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Section: Phylogenetic Relationships Between Anatolian and Cyprian Mou...supporting

confidence: 80%

Population genomic history of the endangered Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons in relation to worldwide wild, feral and domestic sheep lineages

Atağ,

Kaptan,

Yüncü

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous work reported that the ASM from Iran was the wild sheep lineage genetically closest to DOM, relative to other wild sheep, implying that ASM could have been the wild source of DOM ( Hiendleder et al 2002 ; Chessa et al 2009 ; Cheng et al 2023 ; Wang et al 2023 ). Here, we report that ANM and CYM cluster with EUM and DOM, with ASM as outgroup, a pattern supported by MDS and f 3 and f 4 statistics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ASM ( Ovis gmelini ; formerly Ovis orientalis ) is currently represented by three to five subspecies ranging through Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Cyprus ( Garel et al 2022 ). This group is considered to include the closest living relatives of the wild source population of DOM ( Hiendleder et al 2002 ; Chessa et al 2009 ; Cheng et al 2023 ; Wang et al 2023 ). The ASM is listed as “Near Threatened” under the IUCN Red List criteria as of 2024, with most populations numbering in the thousands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Genomic History of the Endangered Anatolian and Cyprian Mouflons in Relation to Worldwide Wild, Feral, and Domestic Sheep Lineages

Atağ,

Kaptan,

Yüncü

et al. 2024

Genome Biology and Evolution

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Once widespread in their homelands, the Anatolian mouflon (Ovis gmelini anatolica) and the Cyprian mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion) were driven to near extinction during the 20th century and are currently listed as endangered populations by the IUCN. While the exact origins of these lineages remain unclear, they have been suggested to be close relatives of domestic sheep or remnants of proto-domestic sheep. Here, we study whole genome sequences of n = 5 Anatolian mouflons and n = 10 Cyprian mouflons in terms of population history and diversity, comparing them to eight other extant sheep lineages. We find reciprocal genetic affinity between Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons and domestic sheep, higher than all other studied wild sheep genomes, including the Iranian mouflon (Ovis gmelini). Studying diversity indices, we detect a considerable load of short runs of homozygosity (ROH) blocks (<2 Mb) in both Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons, reflecting small effective population size (Ne). Meanwhile, Ne as well as mutation load estimates are lower in Cyprian compared to Anatolian mouflons, suggesting the purging of recessive deleterious variants in Cyprian sheep under a small long-term Ne, possibly attributable to founder effects, island isolation, introgression from domestic lineages, or differences in their bottleneck dynamics. Expanding our analyses to worldwide wild and feral Ovis genomes, we observe varying viability metrics among different lineages, and a limited consistency between viability metrics and IUCN conservation status. Factors such as recent inbreeding, introgression, and unique population dynamics may have contributed to the observed disparities.

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The Population History of Domestic Sheep Revealed by Paleogenomes

Kaptan,

Atağ,

Vural

et al. 2024

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Sheep was one of the first domesticated animals in Neolithic West Eurasia. The zooarchaeological record suggests that domestication first took place in Southwest Asia, although much remains unresolved about the precise location(s) and timing(s) of earliest domestication, or the post-domestication history of sheep. Here, we present 24 new partial sheep paleogenomes, including a 13,000-year-old Epipaleolithic Central Anatolian wild sheep, as well as 14 domestic sheep from Neolithic Anatolia, two from Neolithic Iran, two from Neolithic Iberia, three from Neolithic France, and one each from Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Baltic and South Russia, in addition to five present-day Central Anatolian Mouflons and two present-day Cyprian Mouflons. We find that Neolithic European, as well as domestic sheep breeds, are genetically closer to the Anatolian Epipaleolithic sheep and the present-day Anatolian and Cyprian Mouflon than to the Iranian Mouflon. This supports a Central Anatolian source for domestication, presenting strong evidence for a domestication event in SW Asia outside the Fertile Crescent, although we cannot rule out multiple domestication events also within the Neolithic Fertile Crescent. We further find evidence for multiple admixture and replacement events, including one that parallels the Pontic Steppe-related ancestry expansion in Europe, as well as a post-Bronze Age event that appears to have further spread Asia-related alleles across global sheep breeds. Our findings mark the dynamism of past domestic sheep populations in their potential for dispersal and admixture, sometimes being paralleled by their shepherds and in other cases not.

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Genomic analyses of Asiatic Mouflon in Iran provide insights into the domestication and evolution of sheep

Cited by 3 publications

References 77 publications

Population genomic history of the endangered Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons in relation to worldwide wild, feral and domestic sheep lineages

Population genomic history of the endangered Anatolian and Cyprian mouflons in relation to worldwide wild, feral and domestic sheep lineages

Population Genomic History of the Endangered Anatolian and Cyprian Mouflons in Relation to Worldwide Wild, Feral, and Domestic Sheep Lineages

The Population History of Domestic Sheep Revealed by Paleogenomes

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