These once wolf-like creatures evolved into members of our family who live with us, play with us and even sleep with us.
Scientists at the University of Michigan used the power genomics to compare the DNA of a dog and wolf to identify the genes involved in domestication. Amanda Pendleton a post-doctoral researcher noticed something peculiar about the DNA of modern dogs: at some places, it didn't appear to match DNA from ancient dogs.
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"We convinced ourselves that previous studies found many genes not associated with being a dog but with being a breed dog," says Pendleton was quoted in Phys.org. She explained that breed dogs mostly arose around 300 years ago and they are not fully reflective of the genetic diversity in dogs around the world.
She and her team looked at 43 village dogs from locations like India, Portugal and Vietnam and compared their DNA to the DNA of ancient dogs found at burial sites from around 5,000 years ago, and wolves, they used statistical methods to understand the genetic changes that resulted from humans' first efforts at domestication from those associated with the development of specific breeds.
The gene study foundwhat is known as the neural crest hypothesis of domestication. "The neural crest hypothesis posits that the phenotypes we see in domesticated animals over and over again -- floppy ears, changes to the jaw, coloration, tame behavior -- can be explained by genetic changes that act in a certain type of cell during development called neural crest cells, which are incredibly important and contribute to all kinds of adult tissues," she explained in Phys.org.