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Did you know that dogs are the first species people ever domesticated? Before any other animal or crop came man’s best friend.
Domesticated dogs and today’s wolves both descend from an ancient wolf population. Scientists had long thought that once domestication happened, around 20,000 years ago, there wasn’t much interbreeding between dogs and wolves.
Evolutionary biologist Audrey Lin and molecular biologist Logan Kistler decided to investigate that assumption. With their colleagues, these two Smithsonian Institution scientists analyzed genomes from 2,693 dogs and wolves.
What they found is that interbreeding has happened more often and more recently than previously thought. Bits of dog DNA were present in wolves, and bits of wolf DNA were present in dogs – even tiny Chihuahuas are 0.2% wolf! Lin and Kistler explain how gene flow between the two species could offer adaptive advantages and conservation challenges.
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Modern wolves and dogs both descend from an ancient wolf population that lived alongside woolly mammoths and cave bears.
Iza Lyson/500px Prime via Getty Images
Audrey T. Lin, Smithsonian Institution; Logan Kistler, Smithsonian Institution
Today’s wolves and dogs share a common ancestor. But a deeper look at their genes reveals that interbreeding since dogs were domesticated 20,000 years ago hasn’t been as rare as scientists assumed.
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