African Pastoralism: Genetic Imprints of Origins and Migrations

The genetic history of African cattle pastoralism is controversial and poorly understood. We reveal the genetic signatures of its origins, secondary movements, and differentiation through the study of 15 microsatellite loci in 50 indigenous cattle breeds spanning the present cattle distribution in A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2002-04, Vol.296 (5566), p.336-339
Main Authors: Hanotte, Olivier, Bradley, Daniel G., Ochieng, Joel W., Verjee, Yasmin, Hill, Emmeline W., J. Edward O. Rege
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Admixtures
Africa
Alleles
Analysis of Variance
Animal Husbandry
Animal productions
Animals
Animals, Domestic - classification
Animals, Domestic - genetics
Anthropology
Archaeology
Biological and medical sciences
Bos indicus
Bos taurus
Cattle
Cattle - classification
Cattle - genetics
Continents
Domestication
Europe
Evaluation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic research
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Genetics, Population
Humans
Individualized Instruction
Interpolation
Livestock
Microsatellite Repeats
Middle East
Migration
Pastoralism
Physical anthropology
Population genetics
Population genetics, reproduction patterns
Principal Component Analysis
Principals
Terrestrial animal productions
Vertebrata
Vertebrates
Zebu
Zebus
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Summary:The genetic history of African cattle pastoralism is controversial and poorly understood. We reveal the genetic signatures of its origins, secondary movements, and differentiation through the study of 15 microsatellite loci in 50 indigenous cattle breeds spanning the present cattle distribution in Africa. The earliest cattle originated within the African continent, but Near East and European genetic influences are also identified. The initial expansion of African Bos taurus was likely from a single region of origin. It reached the southern part of the continent by following an eastern route rather than a western one. The B. indicus genetic influence shows a major entry point through the Horn and the East Coast of Africa and two modes of introgression into the continent.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1069878