Population dynamic of the extinct European aurochs: genetic evidence of a north-south differentiation pattern and no evidence of post-glacial expansion
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Background: The aurochs (Bos primigenius) was a large bovine that ranged over almost the entirety of the Eurasian continent and North Africa. It is the wild ancestor of the modern cattle (Bos taurus), and went extinct in 1627 probably as a consequence of human hunting and the progressive reduction of its habitat. To investigate in detail the genetic history of this species and to compare the population dynamics in different European areas, we analysed Bos primigenius remains from various sites across Italy. Results: Fourteen samples provided ancient DNA fragments from the mitochondrial hypervariable region. Our data, jointly analysed with previously published sequences, support the view that Italian aurochsen were genetically similar to modern bovine breeds, but very different from northern/central European aurochsen. Bayesian analyses and coalescent simulations indicate that the genetic variation pattern in both Italian and northern/central European aurochsen is compatible with demographic stability after the last glaciation. We provide evidence that signatures of population expansion can erroneously arise in stable aurochsen populations when the different ages of the samples are not taken into account. Conclusions: Distinct groups of aurochsen probably inhabited Italy and northern/central Europe after the last glaciation, respectively. On the contrary, Italian and Fertile Crescent aurochsen likely shared several mtDNA sequences, now common in modern breeds. We argue that a certain level of genetic homogeneity characterized aurochs populations in Southern Europe and the Middle East, and also that post-glacial recolonization of northern and central Europe advanced, without major demographic expansions, from eastern, and not southern, refugia.
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Italy and the Fertile Crescent harbor the T haplogroup dominant in modern domestic cattle, while central and northern European aurochs gave rise to the P haplogroup, which expanded from the Iberian Peninsula following the Last Ice Age.
“Italy and the Fertile Crescent harbor the T haplogroup, dominant in modern domestic cattle, while central and northern European aurochs gave rise to the P haplogroup, which expanded from the Iberian Peninsula following the Last Ice Age [12,13].”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [13]
The Results (Analysis of haplotype diversity) and Discussion identify T haplotypes in Italian aurochs and early specimens from Syria and Turkey, and P haplotypes as typical of northern and central European aurochs. The Discussion does not establish an Iberian post-glacial expansion: it says an Iberian contribution cannot be ruled out, while eastern refugia may have been important. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDuring the Last Glacial Maximum, European aurochs contracted into southern Europe, specifically the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas.
“During the Last Glacial Maximum, European aurochs contracted into southern Europe, specifically the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas.”
From The Genomic Landscape of Cattle: Domestication, Dispersal, and Adaptive Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [13]
The Discussion (page not specified) suggests Italy may have been a southern refugium during the glaciations and says an Iberian refugium cannot be ruled out. It does not establish a Last Glacial Maximum contraction into the three named peninsulas or identify the Balkans as an aurochs refugium. The Conclusion instead attributes post-glacial recolonization of northern and central Europe to eastern immigrants. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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- Authors
- Mona, S., Catalano, G., Lari, M., Larson, G., Boscato, P., Casoli, A., Sineo, L., Di Patti, C., Pecchioli, E., Caramelli, D., & Bertorelle, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Ferrara (IT)
- University of Florence (IT)
- Durham University (GB)
- University of Siena (IT)
- University of Parma (IT)
- Fondazione Edmund Mach (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Bertorelle, Giorgio
- ORCID
- Venue
- BMC Evolutionary Biology
- Published
- 2010-03-26
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 83-83
- ISSN
- 1471-2148 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2858146
- OpenAlex
- W2136777485
- Cited by
- 69
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Evolutionary Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Use Siena air (University of Siena) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- HAL AMU (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Nova Science Publishers (Nova Science Publishers, Inc.) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (Fondazione Edmund Mach) (submittedVersion)
- Institutional Research Information System University of Ferrara (University of Ferrara) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Università degli Studi di Firenze
- Università degli Studi di Ferrara
- Topics
- 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
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Keywords
- aurochs, Bos primigenius, extinct species, population dynamics, mitochondrial DNA, ancient DNA, genetic differentiation, postglacial recolonization, refugia, population growth, population stability, Fertile Crescent
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Bayes Theorem, DNA, Mitochondrial, Genetics, Population, Geography, Haplotypes, Italy, Phylogeny, Population Dynamics, Ruminants, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Extinction, Biological
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