PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Reindeer have long been served as vital subsistence resources for inhabitants of Arctic and subarctic regions owing to their domestication. However, the evolutionary relationships and divergence times among different reindeer populations, genetic traits that distinguish domesticated reindeer, and factors that contribute to their relative docility compared with that of other Cervidae specie, remain unclear. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of 32 individuals from wild and domestic reindeer populations that inhabit Arctic and subarctic regions. We found that reindeer experienced 2 or more independent domestication events characterized by weak artificial selection pressure and limited significant differences in genomic parameters between wild and domestic populations. Alterations in conserved noncoding elements in the reindeer genomes, particularly those associated with nervous system development, may have contributed to their domestication by rendering the nervous system less responsive. Together, our results suggest that inherent species-specific traits, rather than intense artificial selection, may have played a significant role in the relatively docile behavior of reindeer and offer valuable insights into the domestication process of these animals.
摘要：
由于驯化，驯鹿长期以来一直是北极和亚北极地区居民的重要生存资源。然而,不同驯鹿种群之间的进化关系和分歧时间，区分驯化驯鹿的遗传特征，以及与其他宫颈科物种相比，有助于其相对温顺的因素，仍然不清楚。在这项研究中,我们对居住在北极和亚北极地区的野生和驯鹿种群中的32个个体的基因组进行了测序。我们发现，驯鹿经历了2个或更多个独立的驯化事件，其特征是人工选择压力较弱，并且野生和国内种群之间基因组参数的显着差异有限。驯鹿基因组中保守非编码元件的变化，特别是那些与神经系统发育有关的，可能通过降低神经系统的反应来促进他们的驯化。一起,我们的结果表明，固有的物种特异性特征，而不是激烈的人工选择，可能在驯鹿相对温顺的行为中发挥了重要作用，并为这些动物的驯化过程提供了宝贵的见解。
