HV1 mtDNA Reveals the High Genetic Diversity and the Ancient Origin of Vietnamese Dogs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study evaluated the genetic diversity and investigated the origin of Vietnamese domestic dogs on the basis of genetic data. A total of 56 haplotypes (group of genes inherited together from a single parent), including 14 indigenous ones (two of them have not been previously reported) were observed, with some of them implying that Australian dingo and Polynesian dogs originated from Southeast Asian ones, reinforcing the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River. ABSTRACT: In this study, samples from 429 dog individuals across three main regions of Vietnam (Southern Vietnam (SVN), Central Vietnam (CVN), and Northern Vietnam (NVN)) were collected to analyze the 582 bp region mtDNA HVI, so as to study the genetic diversity and to screen the rare haplotype E in the Vietnamese village dog population. Nine new haplotypes A, two new haplotypes B, and three haplotypes C were unique to Vietnam dogs, in which the new haplotypes An3, An7, Cn1, and Cn3 concerned mutations at new polymorphism sites (15,517, 15,505, 15,479, and 15,933, respectively) which have not been previously reported. The detection of haplotypes A9 and A29, and the appearance of haplotype A200 in the two individual dogs sampled support that the Southeast Asian dog is the ancestor of today’s Australian dingo and Polynesian dog. The two rare haplotypes E (E1 and E4) were reconfirmed in Vietnamese dogs and discussed. This study also contributes to strengthening the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River and the Southeast Asian origin of the dingo.