Origin and population structure of native dog breeds in the Korean peninsula and East Asia

Byeongyong Ahn; Mingue Kang; Hyoim Jeon; Jong-Seok Kim; Hao Jiang; Jihong Ha; Chankyu Park

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106982

Origin and population structure of native dog breeds in the Korean peninsula and East Asia

iScience. 2023 May 28;26(6):106982. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106982. eCollection 2023 Jun 16.

Authors

Byeongyong Ahn¹, Mingue Kang¹, Hyoim Jeon¹, Jong-Seok Kim², Hao Jiang³, Jihong Ha⁴, Chankyu Park¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Korean Jindo and Domestic Animal, Jindo 58927, Republic of Korea.
³ College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130119, China.
⁴ Korean Sapsaree Foundation, Gyeongsan 38412, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

To study the ancestry and phylogenetic relationships of native Korean dog breeds to other Asian dog populations, we analyzed nucleotide variations in whole-genome sequences of 205 canid individuals. Sapsaree, Northern Chinese indigenous dog, and Tibetan Mastiff were largely related to West Eurasian ancestry. Jindo, Donggyeongi, Shiba, Southern Chinese indigenous (SCHI), Vietnamese indigenous dogs (VIET), and Indonesian indigenous dogs were related to Southeast and East Asian ancestry. Among East Asian dog breeds, Sapsaree presented the highest haplotype sharing with German Shepherds, indicating ancient admixture of European ancestry to modern East Asian dog breeds. SCHI showed greater haplotype sharing with New Guinea singing dogs, VIET, and Jindo than with other Asian breeds. The predicted divergence time of East Asian populations from their common ancestor was approximately 2,000 to 11,000 years ago. Our results expand understanding of the genetic history of dogs in the Korean peninsula to the Asian continent and Oceanic region.

Keywords: Animals; Evolutionary biology; Phylogenetics.