Abstract
Goats are one of the most widespread farmed animals across the world; however, their migration route to East Asia and local evolutionary history remain poorly understood. Here, we sequenced 27 ancient Chinese goat genomes dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Iron Age. We found close genetic affinities between ancient and modern Chinese goats, demonstrating their genetic continuity. We found that Chinese goats originated from the eastern regions around the Fertile Crescent, and we estimated that the ancestors of Chinese goats diverged from this population in the Chalcolithic period. Modern Chinese goats were divided into a northern and a southern group, coinciding with the most prominent climatic division in China, and two genes related to hair follicle development, FGF5 and EDA2R, were highly divergent between these populations. We identified a likely causal de novo deletion near FGF5 in northern Chinese goats that increased to high frequency over time, whereas EDA2R harbored standing variation dating to the Neolithic. Our findings add to our understanding of the genetic composition and local evolutionary process of Chinese goats.
Highlights
As one of the most widespread and adaptable farm animals, goats inhabit a wide agroecological niche spanning all continents
We identified a likely causal de novo deletion near Fibroblast Growth Factor 5 (FGF5) in northern Chinese goats that increased to high frequency over time, whereas Ectodysplasin A2 Receptor (EDA2R) harbored standing variation dating to the Neolithic
All the modern samples were assigned to six geographical groups according to their locations, including Africa (AFR), Europe (EUR), Southwest Asia (SWA), South Asia (SAS), northern China (NC, including 13 breeds), and southern China (SC, including 13 breeds)
Summary
As one of the most widespread and adaptable farm animals, goats inhabit a wide agroecological niche spanning all continents. Goats in northern China, the main breeding area for cashmere goats, have an extraordinarily dense coat of hair and a more compact body conformation than those in southern China (Liu and Feng 1993; Hai-zhi et al 2001). These local adaptations of northern and southern goats provide an opportunity to study fine-scale environmental adaptation under the framework of domestication.
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