Laboratorio di Archeo-Antropologia molecolare/DNA Antico, Scuola di Bioscienze e Biotecnologie, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy.
PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033792. Epub 2012 Mar 23.
Sheep (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 FINDINGS: Here 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, tRNA(Phe), 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/SIGNIFICANCE: A 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.
绵羊（Ovis aries）于约 9000-8000 年前在新月沃地地区被驯化。目前，关于考古学绵羊的线粒体（mt）DNA 研究很少。特别是，没有关于考古学欧洲绵羊的数据。
方法/主要发现：本文描述了铜器时代欧洲绵羊 mtDNA 序列的第一部分。从所谓的蒂罗尔冰人或奥茨（距今 5350-5100 年前）的衣物的毛发轴中提取了 DNA。使用基于 PCR 扩增和混合扩增产物的 454 测序的混合测序程序对线粒体 DNA（总共 2429 个碱基对，包括控制区的一部分、tRNA(Phe)、12S rRNA 基因的一部分和整个细胞色素 B 基因）进行了测序。我们将该序列与 334 个现存谱系的相应序列进行了比较。
结论/意义：基于绵羊线粒体多样性的新分类学符号的系统发育网络表明，奥茨的绵羊属于单倍群 B，这表明属于该单倍群的绵羊早在 5000 多年前就已经存在于阿尔卑斯山。另一方面，奥茨的绵羊的谱系由两个转换（16147 和 16440）定义，这两个转换一起定义了一个尚未在现代绵羊群体中识别出的 motif。
