Using multiple markers to elucidate the ancient, historical, and modern relationships among North American Arctic dog breeds

Throughout most of the Americas, post-colonial dogs largely erased the genetic signatures of pre-historical dogs. However, the North American Arctic harbors dogs that are potentially descended from pre-historical ancestors, as well as those affected by post-colonial translocations and admixtures. In particular, Inuit dogs from Canada and Greenland are thought to descend from dogs associated with Thule peoples, who relied on them for transportation ca. 1000 years ago. Whether Thule dogs reflected an earlier colonization by Paleoeskimo dogs ca. 4500 years ago is unknown. During the Alaskan Gold Rush, additional sled dogs, possibly of post-colonial derivation, the Alaskan Husky, Malamute and Siberian Husky, were used in the Arctic. The genealogical relationships among and origins of these breeds are unknown. Here we use autosomal, paternal and maternal DNA markers to (1) test the hypothesis that Inuit dogs have retained their indigenous ancestry, (2) characterize their relationship to one ...

在美洲绝大多数区域，后殖民时期犬类（post-colonial dogs）已基本抹去了史前犬类（pre-historical dogs）的遗传特征。但北美北极地区（North American Arctic）仍留存有两类犬只：一类可能源自史前祖先，另一类则受到后殖民时期犬只迁移与基因混血的影响。具体而言，加拿大与格陵兰的因纽特犬（Inuit dogs）被认为源自与图勒人（Thule peoples）相关的犬只——约1000年前，图勒人依靠这类犬只开展交通运输。至于图勒犬是否源自约4500年前古爱斯基摩犬（Paleoeskimo dogs）的早期殖民扩散，目前尚无定论。阿拉斯加淘金热（Alaskan Gold Rush）期间，更多源自后殖民时期的雪橇犬，包括阿拉斯加哈士奇（Alaskan Husky）、马拉穆特犬（Malamute）与西伯利亚哈士奇（Siberian Husky），被投入北极地区使用。这些犬种之间的谱系关系与起源至今仍不明确。本研究通过常染色体DNA标记（autosomal DNA markers）、父系DNA标记（paternal DNA markers）与母系DNA标记（maternal DNA markers）展开两项分析：(1) 验证因纽特犬仍保留本土祖先血统这一假说；(2) 阐明它们与其他……的亲缘关系。