Rock dove genomics

The wild rock dove Columba livia has been poorly studied in contrast to their domestic relatives. Here, we generated whole-genome sequencing data from 65 historical rock doves representing all currently recognized subspecies, collected in localities spanning the species' original distribution range. The description of the population structure and genomic diversity of wild rock doves allowed us to revise the taxonomy of the group, and identify the divergent placement of the West African C. l. gymnocyclus subspecies, which appears as the basal sister clade of all rock doves. We propose a model for the evolution of rock doves that considers a long history of allopatry cycles during the Quaternary glacial and interglacial periods that explain the divergence of the populations.