Yak whole-genome resequencing reveals domestication signatures and prehistoric population expansions

Qiang Qiu, Lizhong Wang, Kun Wang, Yongzhi Yang, Tao Ma, Zefu Wang, Xiao Zhang, Zhengqiang Ni, Fujiang Hou, Ruijun Long, Richard Abbott, Johannes Lenstra and Jianquan Liu ()
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Qiang Qiu: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Lizhong Wang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Kun Wang: MOE Key Laboratory for Bio-resources and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, Sichuan University
Yongzhi Yang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Tao Ma: MOE Key Laboratory for Bio-resources and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, Sichuan University
Zefu Wang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Xiao Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Zhengqiang Ni: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Fujiang Hou: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Ruijun Long: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University
Richard Abbott: School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews
Johannes Lenstra: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 8, 3584 CM
Jianquan Liu: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, College of Life Science, Lanzhou University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Yak domestication represents an important episode in the early human occupation of the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The precise timing of domestication is debated and little is known about the underlying genetic changes that occurred during the process. Here we investigate genome variation of wild and domestic yaks. We detect signals of selection in 209 genes of domestic yaks, several of which relate to behaviour and tameness. We date yak domestication to 7,300 years before present (yr BP), most likely by nomadic people, and an estimated sixfold increase in yak population size by 3,600 yr BP. These dates coincide with two early human population expansions on the QTP during the early-Neolithic age and the late-Holocene, respectively. Our findings add to an understanding of yak domestication and its importance in the early human occupation of the QTP.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10283

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