863 genomes reveal the origin and domestication of chicken

Authors

Ming Shan Wang, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mukesh Thakur, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Min Sheng Peng, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yu Jiang, Northwest A&F University
Laurent Alain François Frantz, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ming Li, Northwest A&F University
Jin Jin Zhang, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
Sheng Wang, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Joris Peters, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Newton Otieno Otecko, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, University of Phayao
Xing Guo, Anhui Agricultural University
Zhu Qing Zheng, Northwest A&F UniversityFollow
Ali Esmailizadeh, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nalini Yasoda Hirimuthugoda, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hidayat Ashari, Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense
Sri Suladari, Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense
Moch Syamsul Arifin Zein, Museum Zoologicum BogorienseFollow
Szilvia Kusza, Debreceni Egyetem
Saeed Sohrabi, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
Hamed Kharrati-Koopaee, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
Quan Kuan Shen, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lin Zeng, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
Min Min Yang, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
Ya Jiang Wu, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xing Yan Yang, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
Xue Mei Lu, Kunming Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xin Zheng Jia, International Livestock Research Institute NairobiFollow
Qing Hua Nie, South China Agricultural University
Susan Joy Lamont, Iowa State University
Emiliano Lasagna, Università degli Studi di Perugia
Simone Ceccobelli, Università degli Studi di Perugia
Humpita Gamaralalage Thilini Nisanka Gunwardana, Faculty of Agriculture University of Ruhuna

Abstract

Despite the substantial role that chickens have played in human societies across the world, both the geographic and temporal origins of their domestication remain controversial. To address this issue, we analyzed 863 genomes from a worldwide sampling of chickens and representatives of all four species of wild jungle fowl and each of the five subspecies of red jungle fowl (RJF). Our study suggests that domestic chickens were initially derived from the RJF subspecies Gallus gallus spadiceus whose present-day distribution is predominantly in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar. Following their domestication, chickens were translocated across Southeast and South Asia where they interbred locally with both RJF subspecies and other jungle fowl species. In addition, our results show that the White Leghorn chicken breed possesses a mosaic of divergent ancestries inherited from other subspecies of RJF. Despite the strong episodic gene flow from geographically divergent lineages of jungle fowls, our analyses show that domestic chickens undergo genetic adaptations that underlie their unique behavioral, morphological and reproductive traits. Our study provides novel insights into the evolutionary history of domestic chickens and a valuable resource to facilitate ongoing genetic and functional investigations of the world’s most numerous domestic animal.

Publication Title

Cell Research

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