瑞典皇家理工學(xué)院科學(xué)家近日確認(rèn)了犬類的起源地點(diǎn)和時(shí)間：目前世界所有種類的狗都起源于約1.6萬(wàn)年前中國(guó)長(zhǎng)江流域南部馴養(yǎng)的狼,。相關(guān)報(bào)告刊發(fā)在最新一期《分子生物學(xué)和進(jìn)化》雜志上,。
研究人員通過(guò)線粒體脫氧核糖核酸（DNA）技術(shù)對(duì)來(lái)自亞洲,、非洲和歐洲1500多種狗的基因進(jìn)行分析，并識(shí)別出10組不同類型的DNA,。他們?cè)跉W洲狗身上只找到其中4組,，而在中國(guó)云南省和貴州省的狗身上則找到所有的10組DNA。
皇家理工學(xué)院的生物學(xué)家彼得·薩弗萊寧表示,，這是第一次為犬類的誕生提供較為詳細(xì)的信息,，如其發(fā)源地和時(shí)間以及被馴化的狼群數(shù)量等。之前的研究雖已指出狼群在東亞經(jīng)過(guò)馴化演變成了犬類,，但具體細(xì)節(jié)并不知曉,。
薩弗萊寧與瑞典同事以及來(lái)自中國(guó)的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)一道對(duì)犬類的歷史進(jìn)行了研究，并取得了一系列新的發(fā)現(xiàn),。他們認(rèn)為,，犬類出現(xiàn)在1.6萬(wàn)年前的中國(guó)長(zhǎng)江流域南部。相比其之前提出的誕生地點(diǎn)和時(shí)間,，此次的研究結(jié)果更為具體和清晰,，從而更具說(shuō)服力。
而在1萬(wàn)至1.2萬(wàn)年前,，隨著犬類的出現(xiàn),，中國(guó)長(zhǎng)江流域人員的職業(yè)已從獵戶或是（草藥、果實(shí)）采集者轉(zhuǎn)變成了農(nóng)民,，犬類誕生的時(shí)間段與該地區(qū)人口的職業(yè)變化準(zhǔn)確地契合在了一起,。
薩弗萊寧表示，此次研究不僅表明了犬類具有唯一的地理起源，還揭示了犬類的誕生源于對(duì)動(dòng)物的大量馴養(yǎng),。目前已知的被馴化狼群數(shù)量就高達(dá)數(shù)百只或者更多,。“由大量狼只進(jìn)化為最初犬類的事實(shí)證明了這是當(dāng)時(shí)的文化中十分重要的組成部分”。
他們的種種新發(fā)現(xiàn)同時(shí)也衍生出了很多令人驚訝的理論,。比如研究人員認(rèn)為,，最早的犬類并不像它們?cè)跉W洲的后代一樣,，被人們當(dāng)作可以信賴的牧羊者或是看家護(hù)院的“警衛(wèi)”,，而是很有可能被當(dāng)時(shí)的人們當(dāng)作了充饑之物，在人類的胃里結(jié)束了自己的生命,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msp195
mtDNA Data Indicates a Single Origin for Dogs South of Yangtze River, less than 16,300 Years Ago, from Numerous Wolves
Jun-Feng Pang1,2,#, Cornelya Kluetsch3,#, Xiao-Ju Zou2,#, Ai-bing Zhang3,#, Li-Yang Luo1,4, Helen Angleby3, Arman Ardalan3,5,6, Camilla Ekstr?m3, Anna Sk?llermo3, Joakim Lundeberg3, Shuichi Matsumura7,8, Thomas Leitner9, Ya-Ping Zhang1,2,* and Peter Savolainen3,*
1 State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
2 Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
3 Department of Gene Technology, School of Biotechnology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
4 College of Wildlife Resource, Northeast Forestry University, No. 26 Hexing Road, Harbin 150040, China
5 National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), 14965/161 Tehran, Iran
6 School of Agronomy and Animal Science, University of Tehran, 4111 Karaj, Iran
7 Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria
8 Department of Fish Biology and Ecology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Muggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
9 Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, MS K710, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
There is no generally accepted picture of where, when, and how the domestic dog originated. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have failed to establish the time and precise place of origin because of lack of phylogenetic resolution in the so far studied control region (CR), and inadequate sampling. We therefore analysed entire mitochondrial genomes for 169 dogs to obtain maximal phylogenetic resolution, and the CR for 1,543 dogs across the Old World for a comprehensive picture of geographical diversity. Hereby, a detailed picture of the origins of the dog can for the first time be suggested. We obtained evidence that the dog has a single origin in time and space, and an estimation of the time of origin, number of founders and approximate region, which also gives potential clues about the human culture involved. The analyses showed that dogs universally share a common homogenous gene pool containing 10 major haplogroups. However, the full range of genetic diversity, all 10 haplogroups, was found only in south-eastern Asia south of Yangtze River, and diversity decreased following a gradient across Eurasia, through 7 haplogroups in Central China, and 5 in North China and Southwest Asia, down to only 4 haplogroups in Europe. The mean sequence distance to ancestral haplotypes indicates an origin 5,400-16,300 years ago from at least 51 female wolf founders. These results indicate that the domestic dog originated in southern China less than 16,300 years ago, from several hundred wolves. The place and time coincide approximately with the origin of rice agriculture, suggesting that the dogs may have originated among sedentary hunter-gatherers or early farmers, and the numerous founders indicate that wolf taming was an important culture trait.
