| Cattle descend from
the wild aurochs and have been domesticated about 10.000
years ago on at least two different locations. Taurine
cattle emerged in the Fertile Crescent region of the Euphrates
and the Tigris, while the Indus valley is the origin of
indicine cattle (zebu). The characteristic hump of the
zebu most probably resulted from selection after domestication.
Taurine cattle spread to Europe and the northern part
of Africa and Asia. Zebu is better adapted to hot and
dry climate than taurine cattle and spread to South-East
Asia and Africa. Worldwide, local adaptation and selection
gave rise to numerous taurine, indicine and hybrid breeds.
Several of these have been exported to America and Australia,
where new breeds were formed by outcrossing.
DNA research has elucidated further the history of
cattle. Microsatellite markers revealed that present
Western-Asia cattle (Turkey, Syria, Iraq) are intermediate
between European taurine cattle and zebu as the result
of a westward gene flow of zebu DNA. Mitochondrial DNA,
which is transmitted via the maternal lineage, indicated
that African zebu breeds emerged by crossing zebu bulls,
imported since 700 A.D., with African taurine cows.
Both microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA showed that
Indonesian breeds are intermediate between zebu and
Bali cattle, which is a domestic variant of the banteng
(Bos javanicus).
We conclude that the genetic resources
of both taurine and indicine cattle allowed the worldwide
use of cattle. Indicine cattle may grow in importance
because of the global warming and a growing emphasis
on sustainable agriculture and extensive management.
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