The exact origin of the peculiar naked barley is somewhat illusive. There   is a debate whether it has a single, monophyletic origin or a multiple, paraphyletic origin. It is from previous Asian studies on naked   barley known that a mutation   or a deletion of the nud gene expresses the   naked seed phenotype. Not much   investigation has been done outside of   Asia, least of all in the Nordic countries, on what gives naked   barley its character. Therefore this   study was set up to examine if   the Nordic variant of naked barley shares   the same nud allele as the Asian   and thus has a   close connection with it, or   if they have independent mutations. I   could confirm that the known alleles of the nud gene do determine the seed character of barley. Most of the   results of the PCR genotyping confirmed the phenotype of the tested   accessions, both naked and hulled barleys. However, one visually phenotyped naked   barley cultivar (NGB4580) still amplified with the known primers that would   match the Asian hulled allele, meaning that the Nordic accession NGB4580 of   naked barley did not carry the known nud   deletion. This suggests that naked barley has arisen independently in Asia   and in the Nordic countries.

Domestication of animals has given rise to a great phenotypic divergence in selected animals and rapidly generated species of animals more accustomed to human contact and social interactions within the species. Previous studies in chickens (Gallus gallus) have managed to find behavioral and adaptive differences between Red Junglefowl (RJF) and White Leghorn (WL), differences inherent to the domestication process. These phenotypic changes could spawn from a variety of different genomic factors, including an epigenetic gene expression regulatory mechanism known as CpG methylation, a DNA modification of CpG dinucleotides that in turn affect nucleosome formation. In this study we investigated the methylation differences between RJF and WL. This by selecting genes that has previously been shown to be both differentially expressed (DE) and differentially methylated (DM) between RJF and WL, and had shown the same kind of differences in both parental animals and their offspring. By using methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MSHRM) we tried to confirm previous DM result, and four genes; FUCA1, RUFY3, PCDHAC1 and TXNDC16 were tested and verified to be DM between RJF and WL.

Den biologiska studien har visat att värphöns genom domesticeringen förändrat och anpassat sina beteenden till att leva med människor. De har utvecklat en minskad rädsla för människor och en ökad stresstålighet. I denna studie har höns återhämtning efter en stressupplevelse studerats. För att se hur domesticeringen har påverkat återhämtningen jämfördes beteenden mellan raserna White Leghorn och red junglefowl. Frågeställningarna som användes för att undersöka detta var: Hur lång tid tar det innan höns återhämtar sina naturliga beteenden, ej stressrelaterade, efter en stressupplevelse? Finns det några skillnader i återhämtningen beroende av kön eller mellan raserna White Leghorn och red junglefowl? Resultatet visade inte på en specifik tid för återhämtning men på att en tydlig återhämtning förekom. Återhämtningen visades i beteendena Relaxed Behaviour, Comfort Behaviour, Perch, Vocalisation och Stand Alert genom att uppvisandet av beteendena skiljde sig signifikant med tiden. Även signifikanta skillnader visades mellan raserna, både i beteenden som visade på återhämtning och i beteenden som inte gjorde det. En slutsats om vilken ras som återhämtade sig snabbast var svår att dra. Detta på grund av att beteendeskillnaderna visade på olika tendenser gällande återhämtning. Skillnaderna i återhämtningen mellan könen, visades tendenser på att hanarna återhämtade sig snabbare. Domesticering har även i denna studie studerats utifrån ett lärarperspektiv. Undersökningen visade att domesticering kan ingå i biologiundervisningen i områdena evolution och genetik i år 7-9. / The biological study has shown that behaviour of laying hens has changed through domestication and the hens have adapted to live with humans. They have developed less fear of humans and more resistance to stress. In this study hens’ recovery after a stressful experience has been studied. A comparison between the breeds White Leghorn and red junglefowl has been made to see how the domestication has affected the recovery. The questions of this study are therefore: How long does it take for hens’ to recover their natural behaviour, not stressrelated, after a stressful experience? Are there any differences in recovery between the different breeds White Leghorn and red junglefowl? The results did not show a specific time for recovery, but a distinct recovery was noticed in Relaxed Behaviour, Comfort Behaviour, Perch, Vocalisation and Stand Alert. This beacause of the behaviours differed significantly with time. Also significant differences existed between the breeds, both in behaviours that showed recovery and in behavious that did not. A conclusion of what breed that recovered fastest was difficult to make. This because of the differences of behaviour showed different tendencies in recovery. The differences in recovery between the sexes showed tendencies that the males recovered fastest. The domestication has also been studied from a teacherperspective. The study showed that domestication can be a part of biologyeducation in the fields of evolution and genetics in the grades 7-9.

Domestication is the process by which animals become adapted to the environment provided by humans. The process of domestication has let to a number of correlated behavioural, morphological and physiological changes among many domesticated animal species. An example is the changes of plumage colour in the chicken. Plumage colour is one of the most readily observable traits that make distinction between breeds as well as between strains within a breed. Understanding the genetic architecture of pigmentation traits or indeed any trait is always a great challenge in evolutionary biology. The main aim of this study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting the red and metallic green coloration in the chicken plumage. In this study, a total of 572 F8 intercross chickens between Red Junglefowl and White Leghorn were used. Phenotypic measurements were done using a combination of digital photography and photography manipulating software. Moreover, all birds were genotyped with 657 molecular markers, covering 30 autosomes. The total map distance covered was 11228 cM and the average interval distance was 17 cM. In this analysis, a total of six QTLs (4 for red and 2 for metallic green colour) were detected on four different chromosomes: 2, 3 11 and 14. For red colour, the most significant QTL was detected on chromosome 2 at 165 cM. An additional QTL was also detected on the same chromosome at 540 cM. Two more QTLs were detected on chromosomes 11 and 14 at 24 and 203 cM respectively. Additionally, two epistatic pairs of QTLs were also detected. The identified four QTLs together can explain approximately 36% of the phenotypic variance in this trait. In addition, for metallic green colour, one significant and one suggestive QTLs were detected on chromosomes 2 and 3 at 399 and 247 cM respectively. Moreover, significant epistatic interactions between these two QTLs were detected. Furthermore, these two QTLs together can explain approximately 24% of the phenotypic variance in this trait. These findings suggest that the expression of pigmentation in the chicken plumage is highly influenced by both the epistatic actions and pleiotropic effects of different QTLs located on different chromosomes.

Historically during domestication of animals, tameness towards humans was likely the most desired trait and therefore bred on. The red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) is the wild progenitor of all domestic chicken breeds and earlier studies present clear morphological, physiological and behavioural differences between domesticated breeds and the non-domesticated red junglefowl. These changes may be the result of altered gene expression - pleiotropy or linked genes. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate (1) effects of tameness selection on social behaviour towards conspecifics and (2) social behaviour differences between the sexes. Two generations of red junglefowl, P0 and its offspring F1, were studied. Both generations were divided into three selection lines (tame, intermediate or fearful), depending on their results in a fear of humans test.  A novel type of social reinstatement test was set up, containing a non-social area without stimulus, and a social area containing a mirror serving as stimulus animals. The social and aggressive behaviours performed towards the mirror were recorded, so was the time spent in the social versus non-social part. An undisturbed behaviour test was performed, as well as a standardized social reinstatement test. The P0-females performed significantly more social behaviour (p=0.008) at 26 weeks than males in the mirror test, and females also displayed significantly more social (p=0.04) and agonistic behaviour (p<0.001) than males in the undisturbed behaviour test. The social reinstatement test displayed a significant effect between the selection lines with regards to sociality. This suggests that there are immediate selection responses in early domestication.

Domestication is a process in which animals become adapted to a life among humans by means of selection. A reduced fear of humans is probably one of the first aims of selection, intentionally or unintentionally. Animals that have undergone the process of domestication have a different appearance than animals in the wild (domestic phenotype) and behave in a different way towards humans. In this study I have looked at foraging and explorative behaviours in an unselected parental generation of red junglefowl and their offspring. The parental generation were bred in three lines, a high line, with birds displaying a strong fear of humans, an intermediate line, birds showing a modest fear, and one low line, with birds performing a more tame behaviour towards humans. I presented the birds with three different feeding alternatives, familiar chicken food, meal worms camouflaged with wood shavings and just wood shavings. I counted number of pecks in the different food options, number of changes between sites and how many sites a bird visited. The results show that females of both generations were more explorative than males, by pecking more in cups of meal worms hidden in wood shavings whereas the males pecked more in cups containing chicken food. Females also moved around more in the arena. Results from the first selected generation show significant differences between the selection lines among the females, with females from the high and low groups being the most explorative.

In the present study, history of domestic sheep were investigated by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) based haplogroups (HPG) of 628 samples and mtDNA control region (CR) sequences of 240 samples from 13 Turkish sheep breeds which were located in the hearth of the first domestication center. Also, 30 Anatolian wild sheep (Ovis gmelinii anatolica) mtDNA CR sequences were obtained to contribute to the scenarios on initial domestication stages of sheep. Haplogroup compositions of breeds were identified with SSCP method by using mtDNA ND2 region. The genetic diversity and relationship between haplogroups were calculated. Phylogenetic analyses of haplogroups such as median joining networks and neighbor joining trees were constructed for mtDNA CR, cytochrome B (cytB) and combined CR-cytB sequences with sequences from the present study together with sequences retrieved from NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). Results of the present study showed that all previously observed haplogroups (HPG A-E) were present in Turkish sheep breeds. Two individuals from rare HPG D and eleven individuals from rare HPG E were detected and sequenced. With increased sample size, for HPG E, past population expansion was observed as was the case of HPG A, B and C with mismatch distributions and neutrality tests. Spatial autocorrelation analyses and synthetic map with respect to mtDNA (maternal) pattern revealed that Turkey was separated into two regions which may be attributed to the imprints of third migration of sheep associated with the arrivals of nomadic Turks to Anatolia nearly 1000 years before present. Finally, Ovis gmelinii anatolica samples exhibited two haplotypes / one of them belongs to HPG A (possibly feral domesticate), and the other one shows a distinct haplotype (close to HPG E and C) that was not observed before. Observed, low mtDNA diversity might be the result of isolation, fragmentation, extinction of fragments and bottlenecks. Ovis gmelinii anatolica can be part of the evolved descendants of the wild sheep which gave birth to the domestic sheep.

Archaeologists have favored a date of 14,000-15,000 years before present (BP) for canine domestication. However, recent studies of mutations in the mitochondrial DNA sequence by molecular geneticists have implied that dogs were domesticated over 100,000 years ago, which has challenged traditional theory. Geneticists have further hypothesized that dogs originated from wolf ancestors based upon the number of substitutions observed in dog and wolf haplotypes. Although both disciplines provide substantial evidence for their theories, the origin of dog domestication remains controversial. Several areas continue to be debatable. First, both geneticists and archaeologists incorrectly use the term domestication to describe events that clearly can not be proven to under human control. Second, the evolutionary development of canines is viewed by molecular biologists as well as archaeologist to be indicators of domestication without any further exploration of other probable causes. Third, the studies in canine genetics are so complex that most archaeologists have difficulty in providing evidence that would be contradictory to molecular theory. Fourth, both fields of study continually ignore innate behavioral characteristics of wolves that would make domestication highly improbable. Fifth, geneticists rely heavily on data gathered from sequencing of mitochondrial DNA, which has been assumed to maternally inherited. However recent human studies have shown that this assumption has now been proven to be incorrect. And finally, not only are morphological traits of fossilized dogs and wolves so similar that making a taxonomic identification improbable, but also the amount of archaeological remains available are too sparse and fragmented for accurate affiliation. An alternate theory of canine domestication will be proposed utilizing data gathered from the archaeological record and molecular research. I hypothesize that dogs diverged naturally from wolves 100,000 years ago as a result of the natural course of evolution, not human intervention, and had already evolved into a dog prior to being domesticated by humans 14,000-15,000 years ago. Evidence will be presented to clearly show that this hypothesis is a more accurate scenario of canine domestication.

<p>The fear response of two different captive populations of red jungle fowl (rjf, Gallus gallus) was measured in three different tests, a ground predator test, an aerial predator test and a tonic immobility test. The two populations originated from Copenhagen zoo (Cop) and Götala research station (Got) but had been kept together for four generations. Earlier generations had a confirmed difference in fearfulness where the Cop birds exhibited a higher degree of fear response than Got birds (Håkansson and Jensen, 2005; Håkansson et al., 2007). The most and least fearful birds of each sex and population were identified and used in a gene expression study. The midbrain regions from the candidate birds were collected and RNA was isolated from each brain. The RNA was then reversed transcribed to cDNA which was used in a cDNA microarray experiment. 13 significantly differentially expressed genes were found between the fearful and non-fearful females. Among others were the neuroprotein Axin1, two potential DNA/RNA regulating proteins and an unknown transcript in the Quantitative Trait Locus 1(QTL 1), a well studied QTL on chromosome one with substantial effect on both behaviour and morphology during domestication (Schütz et al., 2002). This thesis succeeds in finding a difference in gene expression between fearful and non fearful female rjf but not between males. It fails in identifying gene expression differences between the two populations. Finally, the found differentiated genes suggest a potential molecular mechanism controlling the fear response in fowl.</p>

Located in today’s southern Israel, Tell el Hesi provides archaeologists with important clues to political and social changes in the ancient Near East. Zooarchaeological and stable isotopic analyses were conducted to evaluate shifts in animal husbandry practices during changing socioeconomic and sociopolitical conditions in the southern Levant. During the Early Bronze Age, Tell el Hesi thrived as an agricultural grain producing center for the southern Levant. The acropolis served as both a storage and redistribution center for the inhabitants of Tell el Hesi. Coinciding with the collapse of the southern Levant, Tell el Hesi was abandoned throughout the Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age. Socioeconomic relations collapsed between the southern and northern Levant as foreign cultures swept into the region. The Iron Age and Persian Period represented constant sociopolitical change as Assyrian and Persian armies battled against Egypt for territory and natural resources, using Tell el Hesi as a military outpost and storage facility for soldiers and equipment. Unsystematic excavations at the site make it difficult to interpret how animals were used at Tell el Hesi over time. Zooarchaeological analysis suggests, however, that amidst constant societal changes at Tell el Hesi, the inhabitants of the site used animals in similar ways throughout time. Statistically, there seems to be little difference in the quantity of animal species represented during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period. This suggests that the once common specialized pastoralism found in the Early Bronze Age survived into the Persian Period at Tell el Hesi and was an effective herd management strategy for small populations living in ever changing societies. Future excavation and analysis would be able to further assess this hypothesis. The stable isotope results suggest that domesticated animals at Tell el Hesi were consuming both C3 domesticated grain along with C4 wild grasses. Economically significant animals appear to have been foddered within the city boundaries of Tell el Hesi but predominantly grazed in the surrounding foothill area. Wild animals such as deer, gazelle and antelope share similar δ13C values with the domesticated animals at the site.