Wolf in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. /VCG Photo
Chinese researchers have discovered that gray wolves from the country's different regions derived from different lineages, according to a recent study paper published in the iScience journal.
Gray wolves, or canis lupus, are one of many widely distributed terrestrial mammals in Eurasia, North America and North Africa.
In China, wolves mainly live in northern and northwestern parts of the country, however, there are also wolf groups in the south, which are believed to have derived from different ancestors from the wolves in the north.
Wolf in the Qinling Mountains in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. /VCG Photo
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) sequenced six specimens from wolf skins around the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Heilongjiang and Jilin.
They found that the gray wolves from the first three provinces derived from a single lineage, distinct from those from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northern regions.
Wolf in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /VCG Photo
The results also indicated that the interspecific gene flow in the genus of Canis likely played an important role in its speciation.
The research approach on ancient DNA can be a remarkable reference for animal museums, said the paper.
(Video clips and cover image via VCG.)
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