The origins of the domesticate brown rat (<i>Rattus norvegicus</i>) and its pathways to domestication

Hulme-Beaman, Ardern; Orton, David; Cucchi, Thomas

doi:10.1093/af/vfab020

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is also worth reflecting on how these results highlight the importance of incorporating archaeological perspectives into understandings of animal behavior in urban spaces (71). Archaeology is uniquely positioned not only to contextualize broader scale trends in the origins, development, and trajectories of synanthropic animal behaviors that are driven by the evolution of urban environments [e.g., structures, food opportunities, and social attitudes; e.g., (3,4,20,26,27)] but also to provide access to a vast biomolecular archive with potential to rewrite the history of a variety of human-animal relationships [e.g., 72, [73][74][75]]. In the context of rat ecology, while there has been an explosion of publications in the recent literature, relatively little attention is given to the relative impacts of the two species (i.e., the implications of whether black, brown, or both rat species are present) on human health, wildlife, and the economy.…”

Section: Broader Trends and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition

Guiry,

Kennedy,

Orton

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While the impacts of black ( Rattus rattus ) and brown ( Rattus norvegicus ) rats on human society are well documented—including the spread of disease, broad-scale environmental destruction, and billions spent annually on animal control—little is known about their ecology and behavior in urban areas due to the challenges of studying animals in city environments. We use isotopic and ZooMS analysis of archaeological (1550s–1900 CE) rat remains from eastern North America to provide a large-scale framework for species arrival, interspecific competition, and dietary ecology. Brown rats arrived earlier than expected and rapidly outcompeted black rats in coastal urban areas. This replacement happened despite evidence that the two species occupy different trophic positions. Findings include the earliest molecularly confirmed brown rat in the Americas and show a deep ecological structure to how rats exploit human-structured areas, with implications for understanding urban zoonosis, rat management, and ecosystem planning as well as broader themes of rat dispersal, phylogeny, evolutionary ecology, and climate impacts.

show abstract

Section: Broader Trends and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition

Guiry,

Kennedy,

Orton

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…PC scores (PC2) A A E L 0 2 9 0 4 4 A A E L 0 0 0 2 0 3 A A E L 0 0 6 3 6 5 A A E L 0 1 5 6 3 7 A A E L 0 2 0 7 0 6 A A E L 0 1 7 2 4 9 A A E L 0 0 7 6 0 1 A A E L 0 0 5 5 9 6 A A E L 0 0 6 9 0 3 A A E L 0 0 8 2 0 7 A A E L 0 1 9 5 1 5 A A E L 0 0 3 3 0 8 A A E L 0 0 7 7 6 4 A A E L 0 0 6 1 2 3 A A E L 0 1 1 5 5 3 A A E L 0 1 1 8 8 8 A A E L 0 0 5 6 0 7 A A E L 0 0 6 4 3 0 A A E L 0 1 3 3 6 0 A A E L 0 0 8 2…”

Section: Declarationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The complex and multistage process that brings animals to live in proximity with anthropogenic environments has had a tremendous impact on both animals and human evolution since the Neolithic time when humans started to breed animals as food or commodity sources, protection, transportation, and company (1). For animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, chinchilla, American minks and shrimp domestication has been a human-driven process (2). For other species, domestication has been a self-selective natural process, which has resulted in an inherited attraction and adaptation to anthropogenic environments (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, chinchilla, American minks and shrimp domestication has been a human-driven process (2). For other species, domestication has been a self-selective natural process, which has resulted in an inherited attraction and adaptation to anthropogenic environments (2). A recognized consequence of domestication is exposure to zoonotic diseases because the domesticated animal may act as a reservoir or an amplifier of pathogens mainly acquired through interaction with wildlife (3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Molecular signature of domestication in the arboviral vectorAedes aegypti

Lozada-Chavez

Lozada-Chávez

Alfano

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Domestication is a complex, multi-stage and species-specific process that results in organisms living close to humans. In the arboviral vectorAedes aegyptiadaptation to living in proximity with anthropogenic environments has been recognized as a major evolutionary shift, separating a generalist form,Aedes aegypti formosus(Aaf), from the domestic formAedes aegypti aegypti(Aaa), which tends to deposit eggs artificial containers and bite humans for a blood meal. These behaviors enhance the mosquito vectorial capacity. The extent to which domestication has impacted theAe. aegyptigenome has not been thoroughly investigated yet. Results: Taking advantage of two forms' distinct and historically documented geographic distributions, we analyzed the genomes of 634 worldwideAe. aegyptimosquitoes. Using more than 300 million high-confidence SNPs, we found a unique origin for all out-of-AfricaAe. aegyptimosquitoes, with no evidence of admixture events in Africa, apart from Kenya. A group of 1033 genes were under positive selection only in out-of-Africa mosquitoes and 236 genes had nonsynonymous mutations, occurring at statistically different frequencies in Aaa and Aaf mosquitoes. Conclusion: We identified a clear signal of genetic differentiation between Aaa and Aaf, circumscribed to a catalogue of candidate genes. TheseAaa molecular signaturegenes extend beyond chemosensory genes to genes linked to neuronal and hormonal functions. This suggests that the behavioral shift to domestication may rely on the fine regulation of metabolic and neuronal functions, more than the role of a few significant genes. Our results also provide the foundation to investigate new targets for the control ofAe. aegyptipopulations.

show abstract

“…The earliest studies using brown rats appeared in the early 1800s. 1,2 The Wistar rats were bred for scientific research in 1906, and is the ancestor of many laboratory strains. 3 Rats have been used as models in many fields of study related to human disease due to their body sizes large enough for easy phenotyping and showing complex physiological and behavioral patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A revamped rat reference genome improves the discovery of genetic diversity in laboratory rats

Jong¹,

Pan²,

Rastas³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For over a decade, a large research community has relied on a flawed reference assembly of the genome ofRattus norvegicusknown as Rnor_6.0. The seventh assembly of the rat reference genome4mRatBN7.2, based on the inbred Brown Norway rat, corrects numerous misplaced segments, reduces base-level errors by approximately 9-fold, and increases contiguity by 290-fold, despite some remaining regions of potential misassembly. Gene annotations are now more complete, significantly improving the mapping precision of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomics data sets. SimpleLiftOverfrom Rnor_6.0 to mRatBN7.2 misses ∼12% of variants. To facilitate the transition to mRatBN7.2, we performed a joint analysis of 163 whole genomes representing 120 strains/substrains. We defined 20.0 million sequence variations, of which 18.7 thousand are predicted to potentially impact the function of 6,677 genes. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed historical records and prior results and refined the ancestral relationship of these strains. Sixteen million polymorphisms segregate in the widely studied heterogeneous stock rat population, and 11313 million variants segregate collectively in the HXB/BXH and FXLE/LEXF strain families. Some inbred strains differ by only 132 M variants, and closely related substrains segregate by even fewer variants. We generated a new rat genetic map based on data from 1,893 heterogeneous stock rats and annotated transcription start sites and alternative polyadenylation sites.

show abstract

The origins of the domesticate brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and its pathways to domestication

Cited by 14 publications

References 47 publications

The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition

The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition

Molecular signature of domestication in the arboviral vectorAedes aegypti

A revamped rat reference genome improves the discovery of genetic diversity in laboratory rats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About