National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal, Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528225, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528225, China.
J Genet Genomics. 2024 Jan;51(1):87-95. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2023.06.002. Epub 2023 Jun 15.
Sheep have been one of the most important groups of animals since ancient times. However, the knowledge of their migration routes and genetic relationships is still poorly understood. To investigate sheep maternal migration histories alongside Eurasian communications routes, in this study, we obtain mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from 17 sheep remains in 6 Chinese sites and 1 Uzbekistan site dated 4429-3100 years before present (BP). By obtaining the mitogenomes from the sheep (4429-3556 BP) found in the Tongtian Cave site in Xinjiang, Altai region of northwest China, our results support the emergence of haplogroup C sheep in Xinjiang as early as 4429-3556 BP. The combined phylogenetic analyses with extant ancient and modern sheep mitogenomes suggest that the Uzbekistan-Altai region may have been a migration hub for early sheep in eastern Asia. At least two migration events have taken place for sheep crossing Eurasia to China, one passing by Uzbekistan and Northwest China to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River at approximately 4000 BP and another following the Altai region to middle Inner Mongolia from 4429 BP to 2500 BP. Overall, this study provides further evidence for early sheep utilization and migration patterns in Eastern Asia.
自古以来，绵羊一直是最重要的动物群体之一。然而，人们对它们的迁徙路线和遗传关系的了解仍然很有限。为了研究绵羊母系的迁徙历史以及与欧亚大陆交流路线的关系，本研究从中国 6 个地点和乌兹别克斯坦的 1 个地点的 17 个距今 4429-3100 年前的绵羊遗骸中获得了线粒体基因组（mitogenomes）。通过对来自中国新疆阿尔泰山地区通天洞遗址（4429-3556 BP）的绵羊线粒体基因组进行分析，我们的结果支持了 4429-3556 BP 时新疆的 C 型绵羊群体的出现。对包括现存古代和现代绵羊线粒体基因组的综合系统发育分析表明，乌兹别克斯坦-阿尔泰山地区可能是东亚早期绵羊迁徙的中心。至少有两次绵羊穿越欧亚大陆进入中国的迁徙事件，一次是在大约 4000 年前通过乌兹别克斯坦和中国西北地区到达黄河中下游地区，另一次是从 4429 年前开始，沿着阿尔泰山地区到达内蒙古中部。总的来说，本研究为东亚早期绵羊的利用和迁徙模式提供了进一步的证据。
