Regional occurrence, high frequency but low diversity of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup d1 suggests a recent dog-wolf hybridization in Scandinavia

Abstract

The domestic dog mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-gene pool consists of a homogenous mix of haplogroups shared among all populations worldwide, indicating that the dog originated at a single time and place. However, one small haplogroup, subclade d1, found among North Scandinavian/Finnish spitz breeds at frequencies above 30%, has a clearly separate origin. We studied the genetic and geographical diversity for this phylogenetic group to investigate where and when it originated and whether through independent domestication of wolf or dog-wolf crossbreeding. We analysed 582 bp of the mtDNA control region for 514 dogs of breeds earlier shown to harbour d1 and possibly related northern spitz breeds. Subclade d1 occurred almost exclusively among Swedish/Finnish Sami reindeer-herding spitzes and some Swedish/Norwegian hunting spitzes, at a frequency of mostly 60-100%. Genetic diversity was low, with only four haplotypes: a central, most frequent, one surrounded by two haplotypes differing by an indel and one differing by a substitution. The substitution was found in a single lineage, as a heteroplasmic mix with the central haplotype. The data indicate that subclade d1 originated in northern Scandinavia, at most 480-3000 years ago and through dog-wolf crossbreeding rather than a separate domestication event. The high frequency of d1 suggests that the dog-wolf hybrid phenotype had a selective advantage.

Figure 1

Genetic and geographical diversity for subclade d1. (a) Geographical frequency distribution of subclade d1 and the three other regionally occurring mtDNA haplogroups, d2, E and F. Number of female lineages and proportion of lineages (%) carrying the haplogroup is given for Scandinavia, Russia and Siberia; number and proportion of individuals carrying the haplogroup is given for other geographical regions, for which information about female lineages is generally lacking. (b) Minimum spanning network showing the genetic relationships between the haplotypes of subclade d1. Haplotypes (circles) are separated by a substitution (solid line) or single-base indel (broken line). ‘D3 (D1)’ and ‘D4 (D1)’ signify that D3 and D4 are not fixed haplotypes, but rather heteroplasmic mixes with D1. Circle sizes are proportional to the frequency of the haplotypes.