March 01, 2024
[Press Release]Japanese wolves are most closely related to dogs and share DNA with East Eurasian dogs
Release Summary
A team of researchers including Associate Professor Yohey TERAI of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI sequences the genomes of 9 extinct Japanese wolves and 11 modern Japanese dogs, showing that Japanese wolves are closest to the dog among the gray wolves. Their phylogenomic analysis demonstrates that dogs may have originated in East Asia from a common ancestor with the Japanese wolf.