Scientists sequence extinct cattle genome

Researchers, based in Ireland and the UK, have found the complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequence of ancient wild cattle using a sample from a 6,700-year-old bone.

They assembled the mitochondrial DNA sequence from the well-preserved humerus bone of an aurochs, originally discovered in a cave in Derbyshire. The researchers, from University College Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Oxford University and Sheffield and Leeds Universities, extracted the DNA using recently developed technology. It was performed at the UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research at University College Dublin.

Co-author Dr Ceiridwen Edwards, a researcher in Ancient DNA Studies at Oxford University, said: ‘This finding heralds what we hope will be the start of a very exciting project to explore the evolutionary history of aurochs and modern cattle.

“This area of research could have implications not only for archaeologists but also for farmers engaged in modern day cattle rearing. In time, we hope to work on sequencing the DNA genomes of thousands of ancient cattle breeds.’

The team’s findings are published in this latest issue of the journal PLoS ONE and can be found online at: http://tinyurl.com/y8rys7t .

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