Reconstructing the origin and dispersal patterns of village chickens across East Africa: insights from autosomal markers.

ABSTRACT: Unravelling the genetic history of any livestock species is central to understanding the origin, development and expansion of agricultural societies and economies. Domestic village chickens are widespread in Africa. Their close association with, and reliance on, humans for long-range dispersal makes the species an important biological marker in tracking cultural and trading contacts between human societies and civilizations across time. Archaezoological and linguistic evidence suggest a complex history of arrival and dispersion of the species on the continent, with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop analysis revealing the presence of five distinct haplogroups in East African village chickens. It supports the importance of the region in understanding the history of the species and indirectly

SUBMITTER: Mwacharo JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3664419 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature