http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/35585/title/Dogs-and-Human-Evolving-Together/
Bob Wayne, from UCLA, has been a prominent researcher on the question of when, how and why dogs became domesticated by man. His new work, reported here, now puts the beginnings of this domestication circa 35,000 years ago, probably in Asia. But he goes further to note that the same sets of genes in both dogs and humans seem to have undergone positive selection around the same time, suggesting that the same biochemical, physiological, metabolic and behavioural changes necessary for domesticated lifestyles were needed in dogs (other domesticates??) and humans:
"The researchers then identified a list of genes—including those involved in digestion, metabolism, cancer, and the transmission of serotonin in the brain—that are under positive selection pressure in dogs and humans alike.
“'As domestication is often associated with large increases in population density and crowded living conditions, these ‘unfavorable’ environments might be the selective pressure that drove the rewiring of both species,” the study authors wrote. For example, “positive selection in neurological pathways, in particular the serotonin system, could be associated with the constant need for reduced aggression stemming from the crowded living environment.”'
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