Abstract
BackgroundSheep (Ovis aries) were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region about 9,000-8,000 years ago. Currently, few mitochondrial (mt) DNA studies are available on archaeological sheep. In particular, no data on archaeological European sheep are available.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we describe the first portion of mtDNA sequence of a Copper Age European sheep. DNA was extracted from hair shafts which were part of the clothes of the so-called Tyrolean Iceman or Ötzi (5,350 - 5,100 years before present). Mitochondrial DNA (a total of 2,429 base pairs, encompassing a portion of the control region, tRNAPhe, a portion of the 12S rRNA gene, and the whole cytochrome B gene) was sequenced using a mixed sequencing procedure based on PCR amplification and 454 sequencing of pooled amplification products. We have compared the sequence with the corresponding sequence of 334 extant lineages.Conclusions/SignificanceA phylogenetic network based on a new cladistic notation for the mitochondrial diversity of domestic sheep shows that the Ötzi's sheep falls within haplogroup B, thus demonstrating that sheep belonging to this haplogroup were already present in the Alps more than 5,000 years ago. On the other hand, the lineage of the Ötzi's sheep is defined by two transitions (16147, and 16440) which, assembled together, define a motif that has not yet been identified in modern sheep populations.
Highlights
Sheep (Ovis aries), have provided a farmed source of food, wool and hide since the Neolithic Agricultural period and represent one of the earliest to have been domesticated
Recent advances in genetics and the use of mitochondrial DNA to characterize sheep genetic diversity are elucidating the origins of domestic sheep and their human-mediated global migrations
Studies performed on the control region fragment and/or the cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of modern sheep from a wide geographical range describe five different haplogroups (A, B, C, D, and E) [2,3,4,5,6,7,8] into which the domestic sheep’s genetic diversity divides
Summary
Sheep (Ovis aries), have provided a farmed source of food, wool and hide since the Neolithic Agricultural period and represent one of the earliest to have been domesticated. Studies performed on the control region fragment and/or the cytochrome b (cytB) gene of mtDNA of modern sheep from a wide geographical range describe five different haplogroups (A, B, C, D, and E) [2,3,4,5,6,7,8] into which the domestic sheep’s genetic diversity divides. Haplogroup A and haplogroup B are the most frequent These two haplogroups have been found in every geographic region where the domestic sheep have been sampled. Sheep (Ovis aries) were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region about 9,000-8,000 years ago. Few mitochondrial (mt) DNA studies are available on archaeological sheep. No data on archaeological European sheep are available
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