The Phylogeny of Wild Goats in Turkey

In this study we have used non invasive sampling techniques in order to map the phylogeny of wild goats (Capra aegagrus), a common element of wildlife in Turkey. Both live specimen (fecal samples) and tissue samples (trophies) were collected from different population distributed in the country. The phylogenetic analysis on mtDNA D-loop sequencing was used to reveal the differentiation of wild goat populations within Turkey, and their differentiation from the domestic goats. As a result, we have observed a clear differentiation between eastern and western wild goat populations in Turkey due to a 75 base pairs difference in the sequences. In our phylogenetic analysis, all of the domestic lineages grouped with eastern populations, which indicates a possible domestication that took place in eastern Turkey. The outcomes of this study is essential for the conservation of the species, furthermore the identification of possible domestication centers and also possible ancestral populations are quite important as these populations can be used in genetic improvement studies of domestic goats.