SE Asian dogs most genetically diverse

A study indicates the first domesticated dogs may have appeared in Southeast Asia roughly 33,000 years ago.

Siberian Husky Source: AAP

Dogs in Southeast Asia have the highest degree of genetic diversity among canine populations, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

A team led by Ya-Ping Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming Institute of Zoology and Peter Savolainen of Sweden's KTH-Royal Institute of Technology sequenced the genomes of 58 canines including grey wolves, indigenous dogs from Southeast and Northeast Asia, village dogs from Nigeria, and numerous breeds from around the world, such as the Siberian Husky and the Afghan Hound.

Their analysis found that dogs from Southeast Asia have the highest degree of genetic diversity, which serves as an indicator of where a species originates.

The origins and evolution of the domestic dog remain a subject of debate among scientists, Nature pointed out.

The study authors indicate suggest the first domesticated dogs may have appeared in Southeast Asia roughly 33,000 years ago and that a subcategory of canines began migrating toward the Middle East and Africa some 15,000 years ago, reaching Europe about 5000 years later.

Though the scientists believe this movement was associated with human migrations, the first emigration of domestic dogs from Southeast Asia might have been initiated by the animals themselves.