Aftercompare the genome of domestic dogs with that of wolves, from whom it is likely that they were evolutionarily separated some 10,000 years ago somewhere in Asia, a team of researchers from the University of Uppsala (Sweden) has discovered thatthe domestication of the dog was possible thanks to an evolution of its digestive systemthat allowed him to eat a diet rich instarch, more similar to that of human beings.
As published by the magazineNature, the researchers analyzed genome sequences that show clear differentiation between the two animals, and concluded that dogs evolved to adapt their digestive systems to a diet rich in starch – the most important carbohydrate in the human diet – than the intestine canine is capable of breaking down into sugars that circulate in its blood. “The gene for amylase, the first enzyme involved in the digestion of starch, has many more copies in dogs than in wolves”, explains Erik Axelsson, co-author of the work. “This was crucial for himThe first dogs subsisted on vegetables and cereals“he adds. According to the scientists, the results show thatcanine domestication would be connected with the development of agriculture, and that it was in the first human settlements that dogs also appeared.
In addition to adaptation in the digestive system, scientists have found differences in genes that affect the development of the dog’s brain, and that could explain why the behavior of “man’s best friend” is so different from that of his closest relatives , the wild wolves. “To adapt to a life close to humans, changes in diet were just as important for these animals as changes in behavior,” Axelsson emphasizes.
