Dingoes (Canis dingo) are an iconic element of Australia’s biodiversity, but evidence-based management and conservation of dingoes depend on understanding their origins and population history. In a new study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers sequenced the genomes of ancient dingo individuals, providing a window into the early history of dingoes in Australia, prior to the introduction of modern domestic dogs and persecution of dingoes by European colonizers. Their results provide insights into the ancestry and origins of modern dingo populations, including their relationship to New Guinea singing dogs, and represent a valuable resource for future developments in dingo management and conservation.
Dingoes are culturally and ecologically important free-living canids whose ancestors arrived in Australia over 3,000 years ago, likely transported by seafaring people. Image credit: Karlel.
Modern dingoes are free-living, naturalized canids that are found across most of mainland Australia and some nearby islands, including K’gari (known as Fraser Island from 1840s to 2023).
Between the arrival of their ancestors in Australia at least 3,000 years ago and the introduction of domestic dog breeds as part of European colonization, beginning in the 18th century, dingoes were isolated from domesticated dogs for thousands of years and represent an early ‘protodog’ lineage, divergent from other free-ranging and modern domestic dog representatives.
Their early divergence and free-living status mean that dingoes were not subjected to the same intensive selective breeding as the ancestors of modern domestic breed dogs.
Consequently, dingoes are behaviorally, genetically, and anatomically distinct from domestic dogs and — as the largest and most widespread terrestrial predator on the continent — they influence the distribution and abundance of many other animal species.
“Dingoes hold significant cultural importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and play an essential role in the Australian ecosystem,” said Dr. Yassine Souilmi, a researcher at the University of Adelaide.
“Understanding their historical population structure helps us preserve the dingo’s role in Australian ecology and culture.”
“Dingoes are currently under threat from lethal culling programs, and our research highlights the importance of protecting populations in national parks and beyond.”
In the study, Dr. Souilmi and colleagues sequenced genetic data from 42 dingo specimens from coastal western Australia, the Nullarbor Plain, and coastal eastern Australia, spanning an east-west distance of over 3,000 km.
The majority of dingo specimens the researchers analyzed predate the arrival of Europeans in Australia — with several over 2,000 years old — and therefore represent the true genetic diversity of dingoes prior to any admixture with modern domestic dog breeds.
“This dataset gave a rare glimpse into the pre-colonial genetic landscape of dingoes, free from any mixing with modern dog breeds,” said Dr. Sally Wasef, a paleogeneticist at the Queensland University of Technology.
“Consequently, are behaviorally, genetically, and anatomically distinct from domestic dogs.”
“Modern-day dingoes’ ancestors arrived in Australia more than 3,000 years ago, most likely transported by seafaring people.”
“The samples we analyzed represent the oldest ancient DNA recovered in Australia and indicate broad possibilities of future DNA and conservation work that could be carried out on dingoes and other animals.”
“Dingo populations are classified into east and west groups which were previously thought to have formed during post-colonial human activity.”
“Our findings show, however, that dingoes’ population structure was already in place thousands of years ago and clarify the genetic heritage of dingoes, while highlighting the importance of using ancient DNA for wildlife conservation.”
“For example, all K’gari dingoes we analyzed do not have any domestic dog ancestry, proving they preserve their full ancestral heritage.”
“Although we studied only a small number of K’gari dingoes, our findings highlight the importance and usefulness of our pre-colonial ancient genomic data to conserving our unique native animals.”
“Due to poor human behavior that causes some dingoes to become habituated to seeking food from tourists, several problem dingoes have been culled, which is concerning given their small population size.”
“The unique dataset of ancient dingo DNA had helped to uncover crucial details about the ancestry and migration patterns of the modern-day dingo,” Dr. Souilmi said.
“Dingoes had distinct regional populations, split roughly along the Great Dividing Range, long before the European invasion of Australia, and certainly predating the dingo-proof fence.”
“The DNA analysis also showed less interbreeding between dingoes and modern dogs than was previously thought, with our research confirming today’s dingoes retain much of their ancestral genetic diversity.”
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Yassine Souilmi et al. 2024. Ancient genomes reveal over two thousand years of dingo population structure. PNAS 121 (30): e2407584121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.240758412
Source : Breaking Science News