Long-term reciprocal gene flow in wild and domestic geese reveals complex domestication history. Anser anser

The domestic geese of the world (European and Chinese forms) are derived from two different wild species: the graylag (Anser anser) and the swan goose (Anser cygnoid), respectively. We used genotyping-by-sequencing approach to create a genome-wide marker set to make the first genome-based inference of the timing of European goose domestication. We also analyzed the impact of hybridization on the genome-wide genetic variation in current populations of the European domestic goose and its wild progenitor. Our data set consisted of population samples of wild graylag goose and breeds of European and Chinese domestic geese as well as a few known hybrid breeds.