The origin of European cattle: Evidence from modern and ancient DNA

TLDR

Cattle domestication from wild aurochsen during the Neolithic produced two major sites—India and the Near East—where zebu and taurine breeds emerged, and all current European breeds were thought to descend from Near Eastern domestication and spread with farming. The study aims to present new genetic evidence that challenges this view by analyzing mtDNA from five ancient Italian aurochsen (7,000–17,000 BP) and over 1,000 modern cattle from 51 breeds. Researchers sequenced mtDNA from the ancient Italian aurochsen and a broad sample of modern cattle to assess genetic relationships and domestication patterns. The results indicate local European domestication events with introgression from Italian aurochs, suggest southern European breeds were also influenced by northern African introductions, and reveal greater genetic diversity in European cattle than previously recognized, calling for a revision of simple domestication diffusion models.

Abstract

Cattle domestication from wild aurochsen was among the most important innovations during the Neolithic agricultural revolution. The available genetic and archaeological evidence points to at least two major sites of domestication in India and in the Near East, where zebu and the taurine breeds would have emerged independently. Under this hypothesis, all present-day European breeds would be descended from cattle domesticated in the Near East and subsequently spread during the diffusion of herding and farming lifestyles. We present here previously undescribed genetic evidence in contrast with this view, based on mtDNA sequences from five Italian aurochsen dated between 7,000 and 17,000 years B.P. and >1,000 modern cattle from 51 breeds. Our data are compatible with local domestication events in Europe and support at least some levels of introgression from the aurochs in Italy. The distribution of genetic variation in modern cattle suggest also that different south European breeds were affected by introductions from northern Africa. If so, the European cattle may represent a more variable and valuable genetic resource than previously realized, and previous simple hypotheses regarding the domestication process and the diffusion of selected breeds should be revised.