Paleogenomics Reveals a Loss of Bovine Lineages in Mid-latitude Asia Over the Last 200,000 Years

Bovines have a complex yet poorly understood evolutionary history that is characterized by admixture and diversity loss during the Late Pleistocene. Unraveling this history is challenging in part because deep-time and geographically widespread genetic data are currently limited. In mid-latitude Asia, Denisova Cave, located in the Altai, Siberia, and nearby paleontological sites have yielded a large collection of remains spanning the Middle to Late Pleistocene, many of which are identifiable as bovines via morphology or paleoproteomics. In this study, we screened these bovine bones for ancient DNA and generated mitogenomes, to refine knowledge of Pleistocene bovine diversity in the region. We found that bovines carrying a yak-like mitogenome were common residents of the Altai mountains, along with bison belonging to the clade X mitochondrial lineage and, more rarely, aurochs. The yak-like mitochondrial lineage identified in this study represents a previously unknown lineage sister to present-day yak mitogenome diversity. This yak-like mitochondrial lineage, termed yak X, was identified at several sites, and survived in mid-latitude Asia across climatic transitions for around 200,000 years. Our findings suggest that all three bovine taxa harbored diversity no longer present in extant populations, thus mirroring archaic hominin findings at Denisova Cave. The Altai mountains therefore appear to have been a hotspot of both bovine and hominin diversity.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Genome Biology and Evolution
Published
2025-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf206
Primary Topic
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Paleogenomics Reveals a Loss of Bovine Lineages in Mid-latitude Asia Over the Last 200,000 Years

Mikkel‐Holger S. Sinding, Katerina Douka, Maxim B. Kozlikin, M.V. Shunkov et al.
Genome Biology and Evolution
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
article

Paleogenomics Reveals a Loss of Bovine Lineages in Mid-latitude Asia Over the Last 200,000 Years

Mikkel‐Holger S. Sinding, Katerina Douka, Maxim B. Kozlikin, M.V. Shunkov, Alexandre Gilardet, Love Dalén, Beth Shapiro, S.K. Vasiliev, Edana Lord, John Southon, Juan Camilo Chacón-Duque, П. А. Косинцев, Georgios Xenikoudakis, Peter D. Heintzman, Jonas Oppenheimer, Gonzalo Oteo‐García
article en

Abstract

Bovines have a complex yet poorly understood evolutionary history that is characterized by admixture and diversity loss during the Late Pleistocene. Unraveling this history is challenging in part because deep-time and geographically widespread genetic data are currently limited. In mid-latitude Asia, Denisova Cave, located in the Altai, Siberia, and nearby paleontological sites have yielded a large collection of remains spanning the Middle to Late Pleistocene, many of which are identifiable as bovines via morphology or paleoproteomics. In this study, we screened these bovine bones for ancient DNA and generated mitogenomes, to refine knowledge of Pleistocene bovine diversity in the region. We found that bovines carrying a yak-like mitogenome were common residents of the Altai mountains, along with bison belonging to the clade X mitochondrial lineage and, more rarely, aurochs. The yak-like mitochondrial lineage identified in this study represents a previously unknown lineage sister to present-day yak mitogenome diversity. This yak-like mitochondrial lineage, termed yak X, was identified at several sites, and survived in mid-latitude Asia across climatic transitions for around 200,000 years. Our findings suggest that all three bovine taxa harbored diversity no longer present in extant populations, thus mirroring archaic hominin findings at Denisova Cave. The Altai mountains therefore appear to have been a hotspot of both bovine and hominin diversity.

Genome Biology and EvolutionVol. 17(11)
University of Copenhagen (DK), University of Vienna (AT), Ural Federal University (RU), Stockholm University (SE), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), University of California, Irvine (US), Swedish Museum of Natural History (SE), Geological Survey of Sweden (SE), University College Copenhagen (DK), Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (RU), Irvine University (US), Centre for Palaeogenetics (SE), Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (RU), IT University of Copenhagen (DK)
European Commission, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Vetenskapsrådet, Russian Science Foundation
Openalex Percentile: Top 61%
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.