Data from: Ancient and modern DNA reveal dynamics of domestication and cross-continental dispersal of the dromedary

Dromedaries have been fundamental to the development of human societies in
arid landscapes and for long-distance trade across hostile hot terrains
for 3,000 y. Today they continue to be an important livestock resource in
marginal agro-ecological zones. However, the history of dromedary
domestication and the influence of ancient trading networks on their
genetic structure have remained elusive. We combined ancient DNA sequences
of wild and early-domesticated dromedary samples from arid regions with
nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial genotype information from 1,083
extant animals collected across the species’ range. We observe little
phylogeographic signal in the modern population, indicative of extensive
gene flow and virtually affecting all regions except East Africa, where
dromedary populations have remained relatively isolated. In agreement with
archaeological findings, we identify wild dromedaries from the southeast
Arabian Peninsula among the founders of the domestic dromedary gene pool.
Approximate Bayesian computations further support the “restocking from the
wild” hypothesis, with an initial domestication followed by introgression
from individuals from wild, now-extinct populations. Compared with other
livestock, which show a long history of gene flow with their wild
ancestors, we find a high initial diversity relative to the native
distribution of the wild ancestor on the Arabian Peninsula and to the
brief coexistence of early-domesticated and wild individuals. This study
also demonstrates the potential to retrieve ancient DNA sequences from
osseous remains excavated in hot and dry desert environments.