Goats from Corsica represents unique inheritance and an important genetic resource
Goats were one of the first species to be domesticated. It happened in the near east about 10.500 years ago. Dispersing Neolithic humans took their livestock with them while on travel into Europe, moving their goats to locations, where their wild ancestor, the bezoar, never reached. Most goats nowadays are the result of genetic mixing on a large scale. However, animals on islands present a unique opportunity to study isolated old breeds.
Recently the goats on Corsica underwent a series of genetic studies in order to throw some light on the process of domestication. The reason is that goats on Corsica are herded in a specific way: Even though goats are left to roam freely around the wild rocky terrain, a good herder will try keep related females together, with unrelated males from time to time introduced in order to prevent inbreeding. Such families tend to ease the work of keeping a herd together while it roams the mountains. A good herder will also be observant of the colours of his goats, as this eases his job of spotting them in the mountains.
The researchers sampled DNA from 28 present-day goats as well as DNA from 29 bones from an archaeological dig at Rostino. The modern samples were drawn from five different herds at five different locations. The analysis of combinations of gene sequences located in close proximity on the chromosomes showed that about 46% of both medieval and modern Corsican goats differed significantly from all other groups (but not from each other), suggesting that they constitute an important endemic variety.
The identification of such rustic groups of animals are important, because they constitute a kind of genetic reserve. Over the past 80 years, however, the Corsican Goat population has dropped from over 200.000 animals to only 30.000.