Mitogenome sequencing of ancient dogs in the Americas: assessing dog genetic diversity and population history

Summary

Mitochondrial DNA of ancient dogs in the Americas has been studied extensively, but most studies focus solely on the hypervariable region. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of dogs in the Americas from multiple geographic regions and time periods in order to compare populations between regions as well as to compare the genetic diversity of ancient dogs in the Americas to modern dogs worldwide. When comparing the HVR and mitogenome data, we found that the two data sets show different results when examining population diversity and structure; dogs have a great deal of genetic diversity outside of the hypervariable region, so sequencing the complete mitogenome is necessary for accurately characterizing the genetic diversity of ancient dog populations. We identified novel haplotypes in the ancient dog population, and found that some dog populations have high levels of diversity while others are much more homogeneous, suggesting a small founding population. With the breadth of our sampling, we also constructed a Bayesian Skyline Plot to model changes in dog population history over time, as well as to estimate the timing of dog arrival to the Americas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

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