The mtDNA haplogroup P of modern Asian cattle: A genetic legacy of Asian aurochs?

Aoi Noda,Riku Yonesaka,Hideyuki Mannen,Shinji Sasazaki

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190937

Abstract

BackgroundAurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Although the mtDNA haplogroups of most modern cattle belong to haplogroups T and I, several additional haplogroups (P, Q, R, C and E) have been identified in modern cattle and aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle.MethodologyWe sequenced the complete mtDNA D-loop region of 181 Japanese Shorthorn cattle and analyzed these together with representative bovine mtDNA sequences. The haplotype P of Japanese Shorthorn cattle was analyzed along with that of 36 previously published European aurochs and three modern Asian cattle sequences using the hypervariable 410 bp of the D-loop region.ConclusionsWe detected the mtDNA haplogroup P in Japanese Shorthorn cattle with an extremely high frequency (83/181). Phylogenetic networks revealed two main clusters, designated as Pa for haplogroup P in European aurochs and Pc in modern Asian cattle. We also report the genetic diversity of haplogroup P compared with the sequences of extinct aurochs. No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle. This finding suggests the possibility of local and secondary introgression events of haplogroup P in northeast Asian cattle, and will contribute to a better understanding of its origin and genetic diversity.

Highlights

All modern cattle are derived from the wild ancestral aurochs (Bos primigenius)
No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle
The aurochs were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene and went extinct in 1627 because of overhunting and habitat contraction [1,2]

Summary

Introduction

All modern cattle are derived from the wild ancestral aurochs (Bos primigenius). The aurochs were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene and went extinct in 1627 because of overhunting and habitat contraction [1,2]. Sequences of whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) indicated these sub-haplogroups as a single macro-haplogroup T, comprising two clades, T1’2’3’ ( including T4 as sub-clade within T3) and T5 [10,11]. Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle

Results

Discussion

Conclusion