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Genome-wide diversity and global migration patterns in dromedaries follow ancient caravan routes.


ABSTRACT: Dromedaries have been essential for the prosperity of civilizations in arid environments and the dispersal of humans, goods and cultures along ancient, cross-continental trading routes. With increasing desertification their importance as livestock species is rising rapidly, but little is known about their genome-wide diversity and demographic history. As previous studies using few nuclear markers found weak phylogeographic structure, here we detected fine-scale population differentiation in dromedaries across Asia and Africa by adopting a genome-wide approach. Global patterns of effective migration rates revealed pathways of dispersal after domestication, following historic caravan routes like the Silk and Incense Roads. Our results show that a Pleistocene bottleneck and Medieval expansions during the rise of the Ottoman empire have shaped genome-wide diversity in modern dromedaries. By understanding subtle population structure we recognize the value of small, locally adapted populations and appeal for securing genomic diversity for a sustainable utilization of this key desert species.

SUBMITTER: Lado S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7366924 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genome-wide diversity and global migration patterns in dromedaries follow ancient caravan routes.

Lado Sara S   Elbers Jean Pierre JP   Doskocil Angela A   Scaglione Davide D   Trucchi Emiliano E   Banabazi Mohammad Hossein MH   Almathen Faisal F   Saitou Naruya N   Ciani Elena E   Burger Pamela Anna PA  

Communications biology 20200716 1


Dromedaries have been essential for the prosperity of civilizations in arid environments and the dispersal of humans, goods and cultures along ancient, cross-continental trading routes. With increasing desertification their importance as livestock species is rising rapidly, but little is known about their genome-wide diversity and demographic history. As previous studies using few nuclear markers found weak phylogeographic structure, here we detected fine-scale population differentiation in drom  ...[more]

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