高淀粉饮食在狗驯化中重要作用

来源：仪方生物，NATURE

狗的驯化是人类文明发展的一个重要的事件，其准确时间和位置仍未有定论，并且从狼到狗的遗传改变知之甚少。研究者展开了狗和狼的全基因组测序，鉴定出36个基因组区段可能是狗选择性进化的靶点。这些区段中的19个包括了重要的参与脑功能基因、8个属于神经系统发育通路，这些可能参与狗驯化的行为学改变。10个基因在淀粉消化和脂肪代谢中起关键性作用，也显示出选择性信号。研究者在关键基因中筛选出候选的突变位点，并且相对狼，在狗的代谢中淀粉代谢显著增加。这项研究显示相对于肉食性狼，从现代狗的祖先到依赖高淀粉的饮食驯化狗过程中这些新的适应性是早期狗驯化的关键性步骤。

The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet

The domestication of dogs was an important episode in the development of human civilization. The precise timing and location of this event is debated and little is known about the genetic changes that accompanied the transformation of ancient wolves into domestic dogs. Here we conduct whole-genome resequencing of dogs and wolves to identify 3.8 million genetic variants used to identify 36 genomic regions that probably represent targets for selection during dog domestication. Nineteen of these regions contain genes important in brain function, eight of which belong to nervous system development pathways and potentially underlie behavioural changes central to dog domestication. Ten genes with key roles in starch digestion and fat metabolism also show signals of selection. We identify candidate mutations in key genes and provide functional support for an increased starch digestion in dogs relative to wolves. Our results indicate that novel adaptations allowing the early ancestors of modern dogs to thrive on a diet rich in starch, relative to the carnivorous diet of wolves, constituted a crucial step in the early domestication of dogs.