Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry.

No abstract

This study presents the world’s largest series of over 20,000 oocytes tested for aneuploidies, involving chromosomes 13,16, 18, 21 and 22, providing the data on the rates and types of aneuploidies and their origin. Almost every second oocyte (46.8%) is abnormal, with predominance of extra chromatid errors predicting predominance of trisomies (53%) over monosomies (26%) in the resulting embryos (2:1), which is opposite to monosomy predominance observed in embryo testing. Of the detected anomalies in oocytes, 40% are complex, so testing for a few most prevalent chromosome errors may allow detection of the majority of abnormal embryos. Chromosome 21 and 22 errors are more prevalent, while two different patterns of error origin were observed for different chromosomes: chromosome 16 and 22 errors originate predominantly from meiosis II, compared with chromosome 13, 18 and 21 errors originating from meiosis I. This provides the first evidence for the differences in the aneuploid embryo survival depending on the meiotic origin. Considering the problem of mosaicism, which is the major limitation of the cleavage-stage testing, the direct oocyte aneuploidy testing by polar body analysis may be of obvious practical value in improving accuracy and reliability of avoiding aneuploid embryos for transfer.

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1–8. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located.

Pre-extinction Demographic Stability and Genomic Signatures of Adaptation in the Woolly Rhinoceros Highlights d Complete genome and mitogenome analysis of the extinct woolly rhinoceros d Demographic analysis suggests stable population size until close to extinction d No increased inbreeding or reduced genomic diversity coinciding with human arrival d Woolly rhinoceros had genetic adaptations to arctic climate

Highlights d Analysis of genomes from all five extant and three extinct rhinoceros species d Strong phylogenomic support for the geographical hypothesis of rhinoceros evolution d Basal split between African and Eurasian lineages in the early Miocene (16 mya) d While all rhinoceroses have low genome diversity, it is lowest in modern-day ones

An incomplete carcass of an extinct bison, Bison ex gr. priscus, was discovered in 2012 in the mouth of the Rauchua River (69°30′N, 166°49′E), Chukotka. The carcass included the rump with two hind limbs, ribs, and large flap of hide from the abdomen and sides, several vertebrae, bones of the forelimbs and anterior autopodia, stomach with its contents, and wool. The limb bones are relatively gracile, which is unusual in bison, and a SEM study of the hair microstructure suggests higher insulating capacity than in extant members of the genus. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the Rauchua bison belonged to a distinct and previously unidentified lineage of steppe bison. Two radiocarbon dates suggest a Holocene age for the bison: a traditional 14 C date provided an estimate of 8030 ± 70 14 C yr ВР (SPb-743) and an AMS radiocarbon date provided an age of 9497 ± 92 14 C yr BP (AA101271). These dates make this the youngest known bison from Chukotka. Analysis of stomach contents revealed a diet of herbaceous plants (meadow grasses and sedges) and shrubs, suggesting that the early Holocene vegetation near the mouth of the Rauchua River was similar to that of the present day: tundra-associated vegetation with undersized plants.

The extinct cave lion (Panthera spelaea) was an apex predator of the Pleistocene, and one of the largest felid species ever to exist. We report the first mitochondrial genome sequences for this species, derived from two Beringian specimens, one of which has been radiocarbon dated to 29,860 ± 210 14C a BP. Phylogenetic analysis confirms the placement of the cave lion as the sister taxon to populations of the modern lion (P. leo). Using newly recovered stem pantherine fossils to calibrate a molecular clock, we estimate that P. spelaea and P. leo diverged about 1.89 million years ago (95% credibility interval: 1.23-2.93 million years), highlighting the likely position of this extinct carnivore as a distinct species.