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Edited by Joyce Marcus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and approved May 7, 2008 (received for review February 29, 2008)
Abstract
European chickens were introduced into the American continents by the Spanish after their arrival in the 15th century. However, there is ongoing debate as to the presence of pre-Columbian chickens among Amerindians in South America, particularly in relation to Chilean breeds such as the Araucana and Passion Fowl. To understand the origin of these populations, we have generated partial mitochondrial DNA control region sequences from 41 native Chilean specimens and compared them with a previously generated database of ≈1,000 domestic chicken sequences from across the world as well as published Chilean and Polynesian ancient DNA sequences. The modern Chilean sequences cluster closely with haplotypes predominantly distributed among European, Indian subcontinental, and Southeast Asian chickens, consistent with a European genetic origin. A published, apparently pre-Columbian, Chilean specimen and six pre-European Polynesian specimens also cluster with the same European/Indian subcontinental/Southeast Asian sequences, providing no support for a Polynesian introduction of chickens to South America. In contrast, sequences from two archaeological sites on Easter Island group with an uncommon haplogroup from Indonesia, Japan, and China and may represent a genetic signature of an early Polynesian dispersal. Modeling of the potential marine carbon contribution to the Chilean archaeological specimen casts further doubt on claims for pre-Columbian chickens, and definitive proof will require further analyses of ancient DNA sequences and radiocarbon and stable isotope data from archaeological excavations within both Chile and Polynesia.
Footnotes
- †To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.gongora{at}usyd.edu.au
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Author contributions: J.G. and J.A.A. designed research; J.G., V.A.M., H.J., J.A.A., J.T.M., and O.H. performed research; N.J.R. and S.U. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.G., N.J.R., V.A.M., H.J., O.H., and J.J.A. analyzed data; and J.G., C.M., A.J.A., G.L., and A.C. wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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Data deposition: The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the GenBank database (accession nos. EF190830–EF190870).
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0801991105/DCSupplemental.
- © 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA
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