Modern taurine cattle descended from small number of near-eastern founders
Open accessAbstract
Archaeozoological and genetic data indicate that taurine cattle were first domesticated from local wild ox (aurochs) in the Near East some 10,500 years ago. However, while modern mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation indicates early Holocene founding event(s), a lack of ancient DNA data from the region of origin, variation in mutation rate estimates, and limited application of appropriate inference methodologies have resulted in uncertainty on the number of animals first domesticated. A large number would be expected if cattle domestication was a technologically straightforward and unexacting region-wide phenomenon, while a smaller number would be consistent with a more complex and challenging process. We report mtDNA sequences from 15 Neolithic to Iron Age Iranian domestic cattle and, in conjunction with modern data, use serial coalescent simulation and approximate Bayesian computation to estimate that around 80 female aurochs were initially domesticated. Such a low number is consistent with archaeological data indicating that initial domestication took place in a restricted area and suggests the process was constrained by the difficulty of sustained managing and breeding of the wild progenitors of domestic cattle.
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The domestication of cattle began with the capture of a limited number of individuals from wild aurochs populations in the Near East.
“The domestication of cattle began with the capture of a limited number of individuals from wild aurochs populations in the Near East [21].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [21]
Cattle have been domesticated for around 10,000 years.
“Given that cattle have been domesticated for around 10,000 years (66), it is possible that this effect represents just a remnant of a more pronounced trait that might have been more relevant in the wild.”
From An Overview of Monthly Rhythms and Clocks (2017) · cites this paper as [66]
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- Authors
- Bollongino, R., Burger, J., Powell, A., Mashkour, M., Vigne, J.-D., & Thomas, M. G.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University College London (GB)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Bollongino, R.
- Venue
- Molecular Biology and Evolution
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2012-03-14
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2101-2104
- ISSN
- 0737-4038 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-1719
- OpenAlex
- W2108052969
- Cited by
- 188
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 8.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Molecular Biology and Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Arts and Humanities Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
- 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
- Keywords
- taurine cattle, cattle domestication, aurochs, Near East, founder population size, mitochondrial DNA, approximate Bayesian computation, domestication bottleneck, zooarchaeology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cattle, DNA, Mitochondrial, Female, Models, Genetic, Population Dynamics, Founder Effect, Mutation Rate
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