Japanese wolves are most closely related to dogs and share DNA with East Eurasian dogs

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46124-y
• Publication Date: 2024-02-23T18:03:16Z
• Authors: Jun Gojobori; Nami Arakawa; Xiayire Xiaokaiti; Yuki Matsumoto; Shuichi Matsumura; Hitomi Hongo; Naotaka Ishiguro; Yohey Terai
• Keywords: Ancestor; Introgression; Lineage (genetic)

Abstract Although the domestic dog’s origin is still unclear, this lineage believed to have been domesticated from an extinct population of gray wolves, which expected be more closely related dogs than other populations wolves. Here, we sequence whole genomes nine Japanese wolves (7.5–100x: Edo Meiji periods) and 11 modern analyze them together with those A phylogenomic tree shows that, among are closest dog, suggesting that ancestor wolf. Based on phylogenetic geographic relationships, dog has most likely originated in East Asia, where it diverged a common Since Eurasian possess wolf ancestry, estimate introgression event occurred before arrival archipelago.