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Comparative Study
. 2017 Oct 18;12(10):e0185306.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185306. eCollection 2017.

Self-domestication in Homo sapiens: Insights from comparative genomics

Constantina Theofanopoulou  1   2 , Simone Gastaldon  1   3 , Thomas O'Rourke  1 , Bridget D Samuels  4 , Pedro Tiago Martins  1 , Francesco Delogu  5 , Saleh Alamri  1 , Cedric Boeckx  1   2   6
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Self-domestication in Homo sapiens: Insights from comparative genomics

Constantina Theofanopoulou et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

This study identifies and analyzes statistically significant overlaps between selective sweep screens in anatomically modern humans and several domesticated species. The results obtained suggest that (paleo-)genomic data can be exploited to complement the fossil record and support the idea of self-domestication in Homo sapiens, a process that likely intensified as our species populated its niche. Our analysis lends support to attempts to capture the "domestication syndrome" in terms of alterations to certain signaling pathways and cell lineages, such as the neural crest.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Salient craniofacial differences between AMH and Neanderthals (top) and between dogs and wolves (bottom).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Graphical representations of overlapping genes showing signatures of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species.
(a) Hypergeometric distributions for each group (individual domesticated species and the domesticate pool) with the probability of the intersection size found with AMH (v). cat: v = 15, p = 0.1454; dog: v = 15, p = 0.0293; cattle: v = 9, p = 0.0028; horse: v = 7, p = 0.122; dom: v = 41, p = 0.0034 (see S4 Table for details). (b) Venn diagram with the number of genes with signatures of positive selection overlapping between AMH and domesticated species. The number in each (sub)set is the number of genes showing signatures of positive selection shared by AMH and the respective species (see Table 1 and S2 Table for details). (c) Graph displaying the overlapping genes showing evidence of positive selection in AMH and one or more domesticated species (n = 41), and genes with evidence of positive selection in two or more domesticates (but not AMH) (n = 9) (see S1–S3 Tables for details).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Examples of synteny analysis for 3 genes showing signatures of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species.
Genes of interest (DCC, GRIK3 and BRAF) and their 3 flanking protein-coding genes are shown in AMH, cattle, horse, dog and cat, illustrating their conserved syntenies. For other genes, see S6 Table.
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