Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Domesticated cattle occur as humpless taurine and humped zebu, historically explained as two independent domestications in the Fertile Crescent and Indus Valley. We question the validity of this model using whole-genome analyses of cattle and their wild relatives, including extinct aurochs. Zebu derives from admixture between domesticated taurine cattle and Indian aurochs and has elevated genomic diversity from an ancient introgression of a gaur-like or banteng-like population into Indian aurochs. We identify selective introgression in zebu from both 238 Indian aurochs-derived genes enriched for environmental adaptation, and 283 taurine-derived genes enriched for domestication loci. We suggest this process was shaped by polygenic selection. Modern cattle diversity traces from a single domestication event, followed by migration, wild introgression, and selection.
Authors: John L. Miraszek, Alan Cooper, Bastian Llamas, Kefei Chen, Kieren J. Mitchell, Ayla van Loenen, Holly Heiniger, Yassine Souilmi, Graham Gower, Harly J. Rowan, Patrick J. Wrinn, Edgar A. Diaz Miranda, Simone Eliza Facioni Guimaraes, Sergei Vasil'ev, Nikoli D. Ovodov, Jeremy F. Taylor, Robert D. Schnabel, Jared E. Decker
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225426078