Search

Olfaction is a widespread mode of communication in mammals. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in biological samples such as scat and urine give them either a repellent property to warn prey or an attractant property to communicate reproductive, social, and territorial status to conspecifics. The aim of this study was to determine whether there are VOC differences in the scat of a dingo compared to that of a domestic German Shepherd Dog (GSD). We standardised the diet for 10 days and then collected scat from 14 dingoes and 11 GSDs. Using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we characterised VOCs present in the dingo scat and compared the composition with those of GSDs. We identified 58 significant VOCs out of a total of 154 VOCs identified in both dingoes and GSDs. Of these, 12 were significantly higher in the scat of dingoes and 46 elevated in the GSD. Of the 12 elevated in the dingo, three were unique and present in high concentration (>10 ng/g), four were elevated and present in high concentration and five were present at low concentrations (

BackgroundOne difficulty in testing the hypothesis that the Australasian dingo is a functional intermediate between wild wolves and domesticated breed dogs is that there is no reference specimen. Here we link a high-qualityde novolong read chromosomal assembly with epigenetic footprints and morphology to describe the Alpine dingo female named Cooinda. It was critical to establish an Alpine dingo reference because this ecotype occurs throughout coastal eastern Australia where the first drawings and descriptions were completed.FindingsWe generated a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome assembly (Canfam_ADS) using a combination of Pacific Bioscience, Oxford Nanopore, 10X Genomics, Bionano, and Hi-C technologies. Compared to the previously published Desert dingo assembly, there are large structural rearrangements on Chromosomes 11, 16, 25 and 26. Phylogenetic analyses of chromosomal data from Cooinda the Alpine dingo and nine previously publishedde novocanine assemblies show dingoes are monophyletic and basal to domestic dogs. Network analyses show that the mtDNA genome clusters within the southeastern lineage, as expected for an Alpine dingo. Comparison of regulatory regions identified two differentially methylated regions within glucagon receptor GCGR and histone deacetylase HDAC4 genes that are unmethylated in the Alpine dingo genome but hypermethylated in the Desert dingo. Morphological data, comprising geometric morphometric assessment of cranial morphology place dingo Cooinda within population-level variation for Alpine dingoes. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain tissue show she had a larger cranial capacity than a similar-sized domestic dog.ConclusionsThese combined data support the hypothesis that the dingo Cooinda fits the spectrum of genetic and morphological characteristics typical of the Alpine ecotype. We propose that she be considered the archetype specimen for future research investigating the evolutionary history, morphology, physiology, and ecology of dingoes. The female has been taxidermically prepared and is now at the Australian Museum, Sydney.

Dogs are uniquely associated with human dispersal and bring transformational insight into the domestication process. Dingoes represent an intriguing case within canine evolution being geographically isolated for thousands of years. Here, we present a high-quality de novo assembly of a pure dingo (CanFam_DDS). We identified large chromosomal differences relative to the current dog reference (CanFam3.1) and confirmed no expanded pancreatic amylase gene as found in breed dogs. Phylogenetic analyses using variant pairwise matrices show that the dingo is distinct from five breed dogs with 100% bootstrap support when using Greenland wolf as the outgroup. Functionally, we observe differences in methylation patterns between the dingo and German shepherd dog genomes and differences in serum biochemistry and microbiome makeup. Our results suggest that distinct demographic and environmental conditions have shaped the dingo genome. In contrast, artificial human selection has likely shaped the genomes of domestic breed dogs after divergence from the dingo.

Mitochondria are involved in generating more than 90 percent of cellular energy and are responsible for many cellular processes such as metabolism, cell signalling, apoptosis and ageing. Currently, there are a number of different experimental approaches employed to measure mitochondrial health and function. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach that quantifies substrate induced mitochondrial respiration from Drosophila. This protocol is optimized for mitochondria isolated from third instar larvae, and can also be used for mitochondria isolated from adult thoraces. This procedure outlines how to perform high throughput and high resolution mitochondria specific measurements for state II, state III, state IVO respiration and residual oxygen consumption.