White coat color has been a highly valued trait in horses for at least 2,000 years. Dominant white (W) is one of several known depigmentation phenotypes in horses. It shows considerable phenotypic variation, ranging from approximately 50% depigmented areas up to a completely white coat. In the horse, the four depigmentation phenotypes roan, sabino, tobiano, and dominant white were independently mapped to a chromosomal region on ECA 3 harboring the KIT gene. KIT plays an important role in melanoblast survival during embryonic development. We determined the sequence and genomic organization of the approximately 82 kb equine KIT gene. A mutation analysis of all 21 KIT exons in white Franches-Montagnes Horses revealed a nonsense mutation in exon 15 (c.2151C>G, p.Y717X). We analyzed the KIT exons in horses characterized as dominant white from other populations and found three additional candidate causative mutations. Three almost completely white Arabians carried a different nonsense mutation in exon 4 (c.706A>T, p.K236X). Six Camarillo White Horses had a missense mutation in exon 12 (c.1805C>T, p.A602V), and five white Thoroughbreds had yet another missense mutation in exon 13 (c.1960G>A, p.G654R). Our results indicate that the dominant white color in Franches-Montagnes Horses is caused by a nonsense mutation in the KIT gene and that multiple independent mutations within this gene appear to be responsible for dominant white in several other modern horse populations.

The Neolithic Revolution began 11,000 years ago in the Near East and preceded a westward migration into Europe of distinctive cultural groups and their agricultural economies, including domesticated animals and plants. Despite decades of research, no consensus has emerged about the extent of admixture between the indigenous and exotic populations or the degree to which the appearance of specific components of the "Neolithic cultural package" in Europe reflects truly independent development. Here, through the use of mitochondrial DNA from 323 modern and 221 ancient pig specimens sampled across western Eurasia, we demonstrate that domestic pigs of Near Eastern ancestry were definitely introduced into Europe during the Neolithic (potentially along two separate routes), reaching the Paris Basin by at least the early 4th millennium B.C. Local European wild boar were also domesticated by this time, possibly as a direct consequence of the introduction of Near Eastern domestic pigs. Once domesticated, European pigs rapidly replaced the introduced domestic pigs of Near Eastern origin throughout Europe. Domestic pigs formed a key component of the Neolithic Revolution, and this detailed genetic record of their origins reveals a complex set of interactions and processes during the spread of early farmers into Europe.

In Switzerland domestic cattle (Bos primigenius f. taurus resp. Bos taurus L.) first appear with the earliest Neolithic settlements (approximately 5000 BC). With the gradual deforestation of the landscape caused by human exploitation of the environment, cattle were used more intensive and in many ways.There is evidence that cattle were used as draught animal since ca. 3400 BC, probably even earlier milk was regularly used.The size of domestic cattle gradually decreased from Early Neolithic until Iron Age. Only with Roman influence larger animals are found. However, after the withdrawal of Romans the average size of cattle decreased again. Archaeogenetic studies will have to show, whether this is due to novel breeding strategies or the import of breeding stock. First genetic results showed that a female genetic type, which is rare in European breeds, is present in Swiss Evolène cattle and in one animal of Roman time cattle from Augusta Raurica. Is this a sign for influence of Roman cattle on today's Swiss breeds?

Typical Near East mitochondrial haplotypes of the T2 lineage were found in one cattle metacarpus sample from the Roman period and in two present-day Evolène cattle in Switzerland. Sequences from eight additional Evolène and four Raetian Grey aligned to the European haplotype T3. Analysis of nucleotide diversity within the mitochondrial D-loop of both studied Swiss cattle breeds revealed high haplotype diversity and similar diversity to a European cattle reference group. Mitochondrial T3 haplotypes radiated star-like from two similarly frequent haplotypes, possibly indicating two different expansion routes. The breed structure of Evolène cattle can be explained either by an introduction of diverse female lineages from the domestication centre or by later admixture. The introduction of the Near East lineage to Switzerland must have happened during the Roman time or earlier.

To investigate the origin of European spelt ( Triticum spelta L., genome AABBDD) and its relation to bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L., AABBDD), we analysed an approximately 1-kb sequence, including a part of the promoter and the coding region, of the high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin B1-1 and A1-2 subunit genes in 58 accessions of hexa- and tetraploid wheat from different geographical regions. Six Glu-B1-1 and five Glu-A1-2 alleles were identified based on 21 and 19 informative sites, respectively, which suggests a polyphyletic origin of the A- and B-genomes of hexaploid wheat. In both genes, a group of alleles clustered in a distinct, so-called beta subclade. High frequencies of alleles from the Glu-B1-1 and Glu-A1-2 beta subclades differentiated European spelt from Asian spelt and bread wheat. This indicates different origins of European and Asian spelt, and that European spelt does not derive from the hulled progenitors of bread wheat. The conjoint differentiation of alleles of the A- and B-genome in European spelt suggests the introgression of a tetraploid wheat into free-threshing hexaploid wheat as the origin of European spelt.

A partial promoter region of the high-molecular weight (HMW) glutenin genes was studied in two wheat specimens, a 300 year-old spelt ( Triticum spelta L.) and an approximately 250 year-old bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) from Switzerland. Sequences were compared to a recent Swiss landrace T. spelta'Oberkulmer.' The alleles from the historical bread wheat were most similar to those of modern T. aestivumcultivars, whereas in the historical and the recent spelt specific alleles were detected. Pairwise genetic distances up to 0.03 within 200 bp from the HMW Glu-A1-2, Glu-B1-1 and Glu-B1-2 alleles in spelt to the most-similar alleles from bread wheat suggest a polyphyletic origin. The spelt Glu-B1-1 allele, which was unlike the corresponding alleles in bread wheat, was closer related to an allele found in tetraploid wheat cultivars. The results are discussed in context of the origin of European spelt.