Abstract
The arrival of Neolithic culture in North Africa, especially domestic animals has been essentially documented from archaeological records. As the data relative to sheep are scarce, we studied the genetic relationship between Moroccan sheep breeds and Mediterranean ones using the sequencing of 628 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region in 193 Moroccan individuals, belonging to six breeds, and 652 sequences from other breeds in Europe and Middle East. Through Network analysis and an original phylogenetically derived method, the connection proportions of each Moroccan breed to foreign ones were estimated, highlighting the strong links between Moroccan and Iberian breeds. The first founders of Moroccan sheep population were issued at 79% from Iberia and 21% from a territory between Middle East and Africa. Their calculated expansion times were respectively 7,100 and 8,600 years B.P. This suggests that Neolithization was introduced by a double influence, from Iberia and from another route, maybe Oriental or Sub-Saharan. The consequence of the environmental changes encountered by founders from Iberia was tested using different neutrality tests. There are significant selection signatures at the level of Moroccan and European breeds settled in elevated altitudes, and an erosion of nucleotide diversity in Moroccan breeds living in arid areas.
Highlights
The introduction of domesticated mammals in Northwest Africa was linked to a change in food production from hunting-gathering to farming[1]
The aim of this work was to assess the relationships between Moroccan and Mediterranean breeds by using the control region (CR) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in order to reveal the history of sheep settlement in western Mediterranean, including their periods of expansion
A 628 bp-long sequence of the control region of mtDNA were sequenced from 193 Moroccan individuals, belonging to 6 breeds
Summary
The introduction of domesticated mammals in Northwest Africa was linked to a change in food production from hunting-gathering to farming[1] These changes were the result of cultural exchanges, followed by population movements well documented in Western Mediterranean[2]. The different scenarios reported in the literature[9] are controversial, and many of them are not based on convincing evidence The majority of these authors reported that except the Mountain population that has existed in the country for a very long time, the other local breeds were introduced into the country by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs or brought from the sub-Saharan regions. Among the different sources of selection, we focused on the climatic constraints, taking advantage of the highly contrasted areas of Morocco described in a previous work[19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
