Echoes in Evolution:K-9 DNA in Wolves

When the first Native Americans inhabited the continent, the ancestors of domesticated dogs were mating with wolves.  From out of that distant past comes news from Stanford researchers that dogs, “in an evolutionary twist”, left behind a mutant gene providing the North American Gray Wolf with dark color coats.

The dominant ancestral genes have given this wolf what is characterized as a “selective advantage” as the loss of tundra habitat has driven some wolves to the forests.  Black wolves are found to dominate packs there, while their tundra-living counterparts are dominantly white. Scientists believe it was the loss of large portions of the Gray wolf’s original habitat that excited this centuries old DNA to ignite.

Genetics Professor Greg Barth, MD, PhD and a principal contributor to this research was “surprised to find that domestic animals can serve as a genetic reservoir that can benefit the natural populations from which they were derived.”   Science’s poetry!  Barsch opines that it is fascinating to think that a spark of the first native American dogs, now extinct, lives on in the North American Gray Wolf.  You can listen to this Sciencemag.org podcast for more detail, or read Sciencedaily.com for a complete report on these findings.