Gene flow between wolf and shepherd dog populations in Georgia (Caucasus)

We studied the distribution of the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes and microsatellite genotypes at eight loci in 102 grey wolves, 57 livestock guarding dogs, and 9 mongrel dogs from Georgia (Caucasus). Most of the studied dogs had mitochondrial haplotypes clustered with presumably East Asian dog lineages, and most of the studied wolves had the haplotypes clustered with European wolves, but 20% of wolves and 37% of dogs shared the same mitochondrial haplotypes. Bayesian inference with STRUCTURE software suggested that over 13% of the studied wolves had detectable dog ancestry and over 10% of the dogs had detectable wolf ancestry. 2-3% of the sampled wolves and dogs were identified, with a high probability, as first generation hybrids. These results were supported by the relatedness analysis which showed that 10% of wolves and 20% of dogs had closest relatives from an opposite group. The results of the study suggest that wolf-dog hybridization is a common event in the areas where large lives...