Thursday, October 29, 2020, the content of a study was revealed, carried out by an international team of researchers, led by the London Francis Crick Institute and the Universities of Oxford and Vienna. The research involved analyzing dog DNA from bone debris dating back to the end of the Ice Age:
“Much of the diversity of dog species already existed at the time of the end of the last ice age, around 11,000 years ago”. Among this group of researchers, the geneticist Pontus Skoglund studied the fossil DNA of 27 prehistoric dogs dating from this ice age, "some of which lived in Europe, the Near East and Siberia" .
Major discovery
At this very ancient time, long before the domestication of various animal species, there were already at least five genetically distinct lines of dogs. “Some of the differences you see on the street today came about during the last ice age.” And, Pontus Skoglund, to conclude in these terms: "At the end of this period, dogs were already widely dispersed throughout the northern hemisphere" .
The dog is descended from the wolf
It is recognized that "Dogs are descended from wolves" but it remains to be determined precisely when this mutation took place. This would seem to have occurred thousands of years ago, or even in a period 25,000 to 40,000 years old. This study will obviously be part of another large and equally fascinating debate “but it reinforces the idea that there is only one origin of the evolution from wolf to dog.All dogs therefore probably have a common origin: an ancient and not extinct species of wolf.
Anders Bergström, lead author of this study and researcher at the Francis Crick Institute, says: “More than four to five thousand years ago, a great diversity of dogs populated Europe. However, despite their incredible physical diversity, modern European dogs represent only a tiny fraction of the rich diversity that once existed. DNA samples of bone fragments make it possible to certify that “European dogs around 4,000 years ago were very different from each other, but that this diversity has been lost over time. Although today's European dogs vary in size and shape, genetically they come from a subset whose diversity is much more limited than before.”
He comes to think that “Dogs could have evolved in the same way as humans.The latter have more copies of a gene creating a digestive enzyme called salivary amylase than chimpanzees, for example. And similarly, dogs have more copies of this gene than wolves, a trend that has increased as their diets have adapted to agricultural life. "Understanding the history of dogs allows us not only to understand theirs, but also ours" .
And, also: Greger Larson, co-author of this study, and researcher at the University of Oxford to continue that “Our oldest and most faithful companions are dogs. The analysis of the DNA of primitive dogs reveals to us the starting point of our common history, and will also allow us to discover when and where this deep relationship began”.
Ron Pinhasi, co-author of this study and researcher at the University of Vienna declares: "The analysis of ancient DNA has revolutionized the study of our own ancestors and is now increasingly used to study dogs and other domestic animals.Studying our most faithful four-legged companion helps us better understand the history of mankind.”