Swedish dog breeds interbred with the Wolf
Previous DNA studies from KTH has shown that all canines, Alsatians as well the Chihuahua, have a common origin in South East Asia where wolves were tamed and became dogs. Now the same research group, in cooperation with Uppsala and Helsinki Universities, is able to show that since the dogs came to Scandinavia, some of them interbred with the Wolf.
"Dogs and wolves have lived separately throughout history. Interbreeding between them seems to have been extremely unusual, but in Scandinavia this has nevertheless taken place," says Peter Savolainen, researcher of biology at KTH.
It is among today’s Lap Dogs, the Norwegian and Swedish Elkhounds where you can see the Wolf’s interbreeding among their common ancestors, but not among other Scandinavia races.
Researchers show that Wolf interbreeding took place around 500-3,000 years ago and that the dog breeds in question have an extremely high share of Wolf DNA. This indicates that the dogs that interbred with the Wolf inherited characteristics that were advantageous in some way, and this meant that they outcompeted other dogs.
"This is merely speculation, but most likely they became more effective as hunting dogs," says Peter Savolainen.
These dog breeds, from an appearance point of view, are rather like the Wolf, but this is not necessarily due to Wolf interbreeding.
"There are other breeds of dog, for example the Siberian Husky and the Laika with a similar appearance but which do not seem to have interbred with the Wolf," says Peter Savolainen.
For more information, contact Peter Savolainen adds savo@kth.se or 08 - 55 378 335.
All the results of the research is published in the magazine Animal Genetics.
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Peter Larsson