A study examines the reasons behind the reactivation of the world’s tallest geyser.
Image credit: Mara H. Reed.
-
Edited by Kent V. Flannery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and approved December 28, 2009 (received for review August 25, 2009)
Abstract
Although the cultural and nutritive importance of the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) to precontact Native Americans and contemporary people worldwide is clear, little is known about the domestication of this bird compared to other domesticates. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of 149 turkey bones and 29 coprolites from 38 archaeological sites (200 BC–AD 1800) reveals a unique domesticated breed in the precontact Southwestern United States. Phylogeographic analyses indicate that this domestic breed originated from outside the region, but rules out the South Mexican domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) as a progenitor. A strong genetic bottleneck within the Southwest turkeys also reflects intensive human selection and breeding. This study points to at least two occurrences of turkey domestication in precontact North America and illuminates the intensity and sophistication of New World animal breeding practices.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: donyang{at}sfu.ca or bmkemp{at}wsu.edu.
-
Author contributions: C.F.S., B.M.K., W.D.L., and D.Y.Y. designed research; C.F.S., B.M.K., S.D.W., C.M., and U.M.A. performed research; C.F.S., B.M.K., S.D.W., C.M., and D.Y.Y. analyzed data; and C.F.S., B.M.K., W.D.L., and D.Y.Y. wrote the paper.
-
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
-
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
-
Data deposition: The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the GenBank database (accession nos. GQ303154–GQ303167).
-
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0909724107/DCSupplemental.
Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals complexity of indigenous North American turkey domestication
Sign up for Article Alerts
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
A study quantifies the racially disparate impacts of COVID-19 on life expectancy in the United States.
Image credit: Pixabay/PIRO4D.
A study examines links between climate change and rainfall-induced flood damage in the United States.
Image credit: Pixabay/Hans.
Launched in 1977, Voyagers 1 and 2 are still helping to resolve past controversies even as they help spark a new one: the true shape of the heliosphere.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
We must learn from the current pandemic to prepare better resource-deployment strategies, governance directives, and policy responses capable of addressing multiple crises.
Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).