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Evidence for Two Independent Domestications of Cattle
Open accessAbstract
The origin and taxonomic status of domesticated cattle are controversial. Zebu and taurine breeds are differentiated primarily by the presence or absence of a hump and have been recognized as separate species (Bos indicus and Bos taurus). However, the most widely held view is that both types of cattle derive from a single domestication event 8000-10,000 years ago. We have examined mtDNA sequences from representatives of six European (taurine) breeds, three Indian (zebu) breeds, and four African (three zebu, one taurine) breeds. Similar levels of average sequence divergence were observed among animals within each of the major continental groups: 0.41% (European), 0.38% (African), and 0.42% (Indian). However, the sequences fell into two very distinct geographic lineages that do not correspond with the taurine-zebu dichotomy: all European and African breeds are in one lineage, and all Indian breeds are in the other. There was little indication of breed clustering within either lineage. Application of a molecular clock suggests that the two major mtDNA clades diverged at least 200,000, and possibly as much as 1 million, years ago. This relatively large divergence is interpreted most simply as evidence for two separate domestication events, presumably of different subspecies of the aurochs, Bos primigenius. The clustering of all African zebu mtDNA sequences within the taurine lineage is attributed to ancestral crossbreeding with the earlier B. taurus inhabitants of the continent.
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“strongly supporting the two independent domestication events involving distinct aurochs subspecies.”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“Molecular divergence of taurine and indicine (also referred to as zebu) lineages is estimated to have occurred at approximately 201,000–301,200 years ago [5,7,8,9,10], strongly supporting the two independent domestication events involving distinct aurochs subspecies.”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“As mentioned, the main mitochondrial lineages of modern cattle are the mtDNA taurine T lineage and the zebu I lineage [8].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Loftus, R. T., MacHugh, D. E., Bradley, D. G., Sharp, P. M., & Cunningham, P.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 1994-03-29
- Volume
- 91
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 2757-2761
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC43449
- OpenAlex
- W2005395185
- Cited by
- 812
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 6.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
- Keywords
- cattle domestication, cattle, Bos indicus, taurine cattle, mitochondrial DNA, aurochs, Bos primigenius, molecular clock, crossbreeding
- MeSH terms
- Africa, Algorithms, Animals, Animals, Domestic, Base Sequence, Breeding, Cattle, DNA, Mitochondrial, Europe, Gene Amplification, India, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Phylogeny, RNA, Ribosomal, RNA, Transfer, Pro, Genetic Variation, Bison, Sequence Analysis, DNA
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