MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age

Granado, José; Harmath, Marianna; Tecchiati, Umberto; Oeggl, Klaus; Schibler, Jörg; Schlumbaum, Angela

doi:10.3390/d13090449

Open AccessArticle

MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age

by

José Granado

¹,

Marianna Harmath

¹,

Umberto Tecchiati

²,

Klaus Oeggl

³

,

Jörg Schibler

¹

and

Angela Schlumbaum

^1,*

¹

Integrative Prehistoric and Archaeological Science, Department Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Spalenring 145, CH 4055 Basel, Switzerland

²

Laboratorio di Preistoria, Protostoria ed Ecologia Preistorica, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Università Degli Studi di Milano, PrEcLab, Via Noto 6, I-20122 Milano, Italy

³

Institut für Botanik, Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestr. 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Diversity 2021, 13(9), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090449

Submission received: 3 August 2021 / Revised: 11 September 2021 / Accepted: 12 September 2021 / Published: 19 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Revealing the Puzzle of the Past through Ancient Biomolecules: From Wild to Tame Faunal Diversity)

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Abstract

The Bronze Age in Europe is characterized by major socio-economic changes, including certain aspects of animal husbandry. In the Alpine region archaeozoological data, though not very abundant, reveal that cattle were the most important domestic animals in this time period. They were probably used differently in the lowlands than at higher altitude, traction became more important and people increasingly exploited them for dairy products rather than for meat. Thus, a crucial question in this context is whether these major events are accompanied by changes in genetic diversity of cattle. Here we report partial mtDNA d-loop data (320 bp) obtained by PCR from 40 alpine cattle excavated at different sites in South Tyrol, Italy, and Grisons, Switzerland. Most cattle belong to the main European taurine T3 haplogroup, but a few members of T2 and Q haplogroups were identified. Moreover, genetic diversity measures and population genetic statistics indicate different cattle histories at different sites, including bottlenecks and potential admixture. However, Bronze Age Alpine cattle appear to be linked to modern rural cattle mainly from Italy.

Keywords: Bos taurus; ancient DNA; archaeozoology; Switzerland; South Tyrol; genetic diversity; population

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MDPI and ACS Style

Granado, J.; Harmath, M.; Tecchiati, U.; Oeggl, K.; Schibler, J.; Schlumbaum, A. MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age. Diversity 2021, 13, 449. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090449

AMA Style

Granado J, Harmath M, Tecchiati U, Oeggl K, Schibler J, Schlumbaum A. MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age. Diversity. 2021; 13(9):449. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090449

Chicago/Turabian Style

Granado, José, Marianna Harmath, Umberto Tecchiati, Klaus Oeggl, Jörg Schibler, and Angela Schlumbaum. 2021. "MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age" Diversity 13, no. 9: 449. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090449

APA Style

Granado, J., Harmath, M., Tecchiati, U., Oeggl, K., Schibler, J., & Schlumbaum, A. (2021). MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age. Diversity, 13(9), 449. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13090449

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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MtDNA D-Loop Diversity in Alpine Cattle during the Bronze Age

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