Genetic Proof for Domestication of Sheep

Subject – History

Context – Study finds evidence that Indian subcontinent was one of domestication centres of Sheep.

Concept –

Researchers at the Central University of Kerala (CUK) have found that domestication of sheep had taken place in the Indian subcontinent, especially in Indus Valley civilisation regions in the 6th or 7th millennium BC.
The study found genetic evidence that sheep had been domesticated in the region in contrast to the general belief that they were domesticated then in West Asia alone, and that they had arrived in the Indian subcontinent through migration.
Even though India ranks second in terms of sheep population, represented by as many as 44 well-described breeds, genetic diversity and phylogeography of Indian sheep breeds remained poorly understood, particularly the south Indian breed.
However, the study provided strong genetic evidence that the Indian subcontinent was one of the domestication centres of the lineage A sheep.
When DNA sequences were compared with other breeds across the world, it was found that the Indian sheep haplotypes were unique and highly diverse.
The study also found that the introduction of sheep ‘lineage B’ into the Indian subcontinent had been through sea route, and not from the Mongolian plateau, as proposed by researchers in China.