Genome data from a 16th century pig illuminates modern breed relationships

Abstract Text: Ancient DNA (aDNA) provides direct evidence of historical events that have modeled the genome of modern individuals. In livestock, resolving the differences between the effects of initial domestication and of subsequent modern breeding is not straightforward without aDNA data. Here, we have obtained shotgun genome sequence data from a 16^th century pig from Northeastern Spain, together with three new modern genomes from Iberian pig, Spanish wild boar and a Guatemalan Creole pig. Comparison with genome data shows that the ancient pig is closely related to extant Iberian pigs and to European wild boar. Specific differentiation analyses allowed us to pinpoint genes that have been plausibly affected by initial domestication. Among those, we found genes involved in coat color and in reproductive performance, both known functions associated with early domestication process.

Keywords:

Ancient DNA

Domestication

Next generation sequencing

Pig