基因研究发现狗起源于中国

 　　A new scientific research report has found strong evidence suggesting that man's best friend originated from China some 33,000 years ago.

　　一项最新的科学研究发现了有力证据，证明人类最好的朋友——狗，起源于大约3.3万年前的中国。

　　The study, the findings of which were published in the science journal Cell Research, found that Chinese indigenous¹ dogs represent an intermediate form between wolves and breed dogs, and that they have not experienced intense artificial selection.

　　研究结果已发表在科学杂志《细胞研究》上。该研究称，中国本地狗是狼与狗的中间体，没有经历过激烈的人工选择。

　　基因研究发现狗起源于中国

　　"Analyses of Chinese indigenous dogs therefore allow us to stratify the domestication² process in dogs, and investigate the role of positive selection that occurred specifically during the first stage of domestication," said the report.

　　报告称：“因此，对中国本地狗的分析让我们可以对狗的驯化过程进行分类，进而调查“正向选择”在驯化第一阶段发挥的具体作用”。

　　The researchers also found that the southern Chinese indigenous dogs together with several East Asian dogs, such as the Chow or Shar Pei, are closest to wolves.

　　研究人员还发现，中国南方的狗以及一些东亚的狗品种（如雄狮狗和沙皮狗）更接近狼。

　　The history of dog domestication is often depicted³ as a two-stage process where primitive⁴ dogs were first domesticated⁵ from their wild ancestors, the gray wolves. In the second stage, the primitive forms were further selected to form many dog breeds with specialized⁶ abilities.

　　狗的驯化历史可分为两个阶段，原始的狗最初由它们“野生的祖先（即灰狼）”驯化而来。在第二阶段，原始种类被进一步选择，形成了很多具有特殊能力的狗。

　　The researchers collected the genome sequences of 58 canids from across the world, including samples from Europe, Africa, southern and northern parts of East Asia, the Middle East, Siberia and the Americas. They found that after evolving for several thousand years in East Asia, a subgroup of dogs radiated out of southern East Asia about 15,000 years ago to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

　　研究人员收集了来自世界各地的58种犬科动物的基因组序列，包括来自欧洲、非洲、东亚的南部和北部、中亚、西伯利亚和美洲的样本。他们发现，狗类在东亚经历了几千年的发展，大约在1.5万年前，狗的一个子群从东亚南部发展开来，到达中亚、非洲和欧洲。

　　"One of these out of Asia lineages then migrated back to northern China and made a series of admixtures with endemic East Asian lineages, before traveling to the Americas," said the researchers. "Our study, for the first time, reveals the extraordinary journey that the domestic dog has traveled on this planet during the past 33,000 years."

　　研究人员说：“这些脱离了亚洲血统的狗，有一些又迁移回到了中国北方，形成了一系列有东亚血统的杂交狗。之后，它们又迁徙到了美洲地区。我们的研究首次揭示了驯化狗在过去3.3万年里在地球上非同寻常的旅程。”

　　However, the researchers acknowledged that several basic aspects about the dog's origin and evolution are still debated over by scientists. For example, several different geographical⁷ regions have been proposed as the birthplace of domestic dogs, and the date of divergence⁸ between wolves and dogs has been estimated between 32,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago, according to the report.

　　不过研究人员承认，科学家们在狗狗起源和进化的几个基本方面仍在存在争议。比如，家犬的发源地就有好几个不同版本，而狼和狗的分化时间也从3.2万年前至1万年前不等。

　　"The exact history of dog domestication thus remains⁹ to be fully¹⁰ resolved."

　　“因此，狗驯化的确切过程仍有待进一步研究。”

　　Vocabulary

　　genome：基因组；染色体组

　　canid：犬科动物

　　lineage：血统；家系

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 domestication   

n.驯养，驯化

参考例句：

• The first was the domestication of animals. 第一个阶段是驯养动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In northwestern China, there is no evidence for endemic domestication of any animals. 在中国西北，没有任何当地动物驯化的迹象。 来自辞典例句

3 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

4 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

5 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

8 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。