Russian Journal of Genetics, volume 60, issue 11, pages 1496-1503

Study of the Cattle Mitochondrial Genomes from Archaeological Finds on the Territory of Yaroslavl (13th–14th Centuries)

A S Abdelmanova 1
M S Fornara 1
N. F. Bakoev 1
E. E. Antipina 1, 2
L. V. Yavorskaya 1, 2
A V Dotsev 1
N A Zinoveva 1
1
 
Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Podolsk district, Dubrovitsy settlement, Russia
Publication typeJournal Article
Publication date2024-11-25
scimago Q4
wos Q4
SJR0.185
CiteScore1.0
Impact factor0.6
ISSN10227954, 16083369
Abstract
Evolutionary processes and selective breeding have developed diverse arrays of local livestock populations adapted to specific natural and climatic conditions. Increased selection pressure and concentration on a few high-yielding breeds have led to the erosion of genetic resources worldwide. One of effective approaches to assessing genetic diversity is the study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism, which exhibits a high level of variability and is characterized by a lack of recombination, allowing the study of genetic relationships between breeds and the tracing of both ancient and relatively recent evolutionary events. The study of the evolution and demographic history of farm animal breeds is possible due to the involvement of historical and archaeological specimens in research. The aim of our work was to identify the most efficient way to investigate mitochondrial DNA extracted from archaeological samples, allowing the analysis of population genetic parameters. The study included samples dating from the late 13th–14th centuries, discovered during excavations of the central part of the medieval Kremlin within the boundaries of modern Yaroslavl. The methods of full-genome sequencing and Sanger sequencing of mtDNA fragments were used to study the maternal variability of cattle bred in the forest zone of the Russian Plain. A dendrogram based on genetic distances of the complete mitochondrial sequence using the neighbor-joining method revealed clustering of archaeological samples in groups of modern Yaroslavl and Kholmogory cattle, which may indicate common ancestors of all three populations. A detailed examination of some regions of the mitogenome revealed that the archaeological samples were successfully genotyped with sequences that slightly overlapped with each other. Therefore, a system for genotyping the hypervariable region of the D-loop using Sanger sequencing of the target fragment was developed. The analysis of nucleotide and haplotypic diversity revealed minimal values of these parameters in the group of archaeological samples. The constructed median haplotype network allowed to attribute the archaeological samples to haplogroup T3, the most widespread in European cattle breeds. The analysis of the obtained data allows us to assume that the studied archaeological specimens originated from individuals of the local group of cattle bred in the vicinity of medieval Yaroslavl in the 13th–14th centuries.
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