Is black coat color in wolves of Iran an evidence of admixed ancestry with dogs?

Abstract

Melanism is not considered a typical characteristic in wolves of Iran and dark wolves are believed to have originated from crossbreeding with dogs. Such hybrid individuals can be identified with the combined use of genetic and morphological markers. We analyzed two black wolves using a 544 base pairs (bp) fragment of the mtDNA control region and 15 microsatellite loci in comparison with 28 dogs, 28 wolves, and four known hybrids. The artificial neural networks (ANNs) method was applied to microsatellite data to separate genetically differentiated samples of wolves, dogs, and hybrids, and to determine the correct class for the black specimens. Individual assignments based on ANNs showed that black samples were genetically closer to wolves. Also, in the neighbor-joining network of mtDNA haplotypes, wolves and dogs were separated, with the dark specimens located in the wolf branch as two separate haplotypes. Furthermore, we compared 20 craniometrical characters of the two black individuals with 14 other wolves. The results showed that craniometrical measures of the two black wolves fall within the range of wolf skulls. We found no trace of recent hybridization with free-ranging dogs in the two black wolves. Dark coat color might be the result of a natural combination of alleles in the coat-color-determining gene, mutation in the K locus due to past hybridization with free-ranging dogs, or the effect of ecological factors and adaption to habitat conditions.

Widespread, long‐term admixture between grey wolves and domestic dogs across Eurasia and its implications for the conservation status of hybrids

“…Occurrence of wolf–dog hybrids and/or back‐crosses has been reported from most European populations, including Italy (Caniglia et al., ; Galaverni et al., ; Lorenzini, Fanelli, Grifoni, Scholl, & Fico, ; Randi & Lucchini, ; Randi et al., ; Verardi, Lucchini, & Randi, ), the Iberian Peninsula (Godinho et al., ; Pacheco et al., ), North‐Eastern Europe (Latvia and Estonia—Andersone, Lucchini, Randi, & Ozolins, ; Hindrikson, Mannil, Ozolins, Krzywinski, & Saarma, ), the Balkans (Moura et al., ), and the Scandinavian Peninsula (Vilà et al., ). There are considerably fewer studies on Asian wolf populations, but recently the occurrence of wolf–dog hybridisation has been reported from the Caucasus (Kopaliani, Shakarashvili, Gurielidze, Qurkhuli, & Tarkhnishvili, ; Pilot et al., ) and Iran (Aghbolaghi, Rezaei, Scandura, & Kaboli, ; Khosravi, Aghbolaghi, Rezaej, Norani, & Kaboli, ; Khosravi, Rezaej, & Kaboli, ). All these studies focused on relatively small geographic areas, and therefore little is known about geographic variation in the occurrence and frequency of admixed individuals which, if known, could shed a light on factors that favour hybridisation.…”

Citizen science facilitates first ever genetic detection of wolf‐dog hybridization in Indian savannahs

“…Most of the information on wolf-dog hybridization comes from extensive studies in European countries based on invasive and noninvasive samples (Harmoinen et al, 2021;Pilot et al, 2018;von-Holdt et al, 2013). Few studies exist from other parts of the world (Khosravi et al, 2015;Kopaliani et al, 2014;Mallil et al, 2020).…”

Morphological relationships among populations support a single taxonomic unit for the North American Gray Wolf

“…Coat color in its diversity of hues and patterns has been used to infer intraspecific taxonomy in the gray Wolf (Goldman 1944; Jolicoeur 1959; Mech 1970). Coat coloration pattern is a complex mechanism affected by genetic and ecological factors in this species (Sponenberg and Rothschild 2001; Apollonio et al 2004; Anderson et al 2009; Hedrick 2009; Schweizer et al 2018), reflecting both a latitudinal gradient (gloger's rule; Jolicoeur 1959) and hybridization with dogs (Khosravi et al 2015; Schweizer et al 2018). Coat color also reflects climatic, physiological, and behavioral determinants in vertebrates (Ducrest et al 2008; roulin 2014).…”