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Revealing the history of sheep domestication using retrovirus integrations
Chessa, B.; Pereira, F.; Arnaud, F.; Amorim, A.; Goyache, F.; Mainland, I.; Kao, R. R.; Pemberton, J. M.; Beraldi, D.; Stear, M.; Alberti, A.; Pittau, M.; Lannuzzi, L.; Banabazi, M. H.; Kazwala, R.; Zhang, Y. P.; Arranz, J. J.; Ali, B. A.; Wang, Z.; Uzun, M.; Dione, M.; Olsaker, I.; Holm, L. E.; Saarma, U.; Ahmad, S.; Marzanov, N.; Eythorsdottir, E.; Holland, M. J.; Ajmone-Marsan, P.; Bruford, M. W.; Kantanen, J.; Spencer, T. E.; Palmarini, M.
The domestication of livestock represented a crucial step in human history. By using endogenous
retroviruses as genetic markers, we found that sheep differentiated on the basis of their “retrotype”
and morphological traits, dispersed across Eurasia and Africa via separate migratory episodes.
Relicts of the first migrations include the Mouflon, as well as breeds previously recognized as
“primitive” on the basis of their morphology, such as the Orkney, Soay and the Nordic short-tailed
sheep now confined to the periphery of NW Europe. A later migratory episode, involving sheep
with improved production traits, shaped the vast majority of present-day breeds. The ability to
differentiate genetically primitive sheep from more modern breeds provides valuable insights into
the history of sheep domestication.