International Journal of Molecular Zoology, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 69-77 http://animalscipublisher.com/index.php/ijmz 69 Research Insight Open Access Origin Domestication and Global Expansion of Domestic Geese JunLi 1 , Xiaoli Chen2 1 Animal Science Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China 2 Tropical Animal Resources Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding author: jun.li@cuixi.org International Journal of Molecular Zoology, 2025, Vol.15, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijmz.2025.15.0008 Received: 08 Feb., 2025 Accepted: 10 Mar., 2025 Published: 25 Mar., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Li and Chen, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Li J., and Chen X.L., 2025, Origin domestication and global expansion of domestic geese, International Journal of Molecular Zoology, 15(2): 69-77 (doi: 10.5376/ijmz.2025.15.0008) Abstract This study explores the origin, domestication history and diffusion paths of domestic geese in different regions. Domestic geese not only produce useful products such as meat, eggs and feathers, but also hold an important position in various cultural and religious occasions. Studies show that Chinese domestic geese (excluding Yili geese) mainly originated from the domestication of wild geese (Anser cygnoides), while European geese and Yili geese originated from gray geese (Anser anser). The domestication process brings about significant changes in domestic geese in terms of behavior, body size, feather color and egg production, and also affects genes related to neural function, reproductive performance and feather color, such as SETD2, UBR7 (involved in growth regulation) and KRCL (related to egg production). Although some discoveries have been made in genetics at present, due to the limited sample size and the scarcity of ancient DNA materials, the exact time, location and method of domestication of domestic geese remain unclear. In the future, through interdisciplinary cooperation, it will help protect the genetic diversity of domestic geese (such as building gene banks) and promote the sustainable utilization of their resources. Keywords Goose domestication; Dual origin; Genomics; Global dissemination; Genetic resource conservation 1 Introduction For thousands of years, domestic geese have played an important role in human society. They can not only provide meat, eggs, liver (especially foie gras), feathers and down, but also contribute to the global agricultural economy (Honka et al., 2018; Kozak, 2019). Apart from its economic value, geese also have cultural and symbolic significance, which can be seen in ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Rome. Sometimes, people respect them and even regard them as sacred creatures (Riddell, 1943; Honka et al., 2018). They can adapt to different environments and also play a role in weeding and integrated farming systems, which further demonstrates their importance in agriculture (Jing et al., 2022; Gao et al., 2023). Studying the origin and domestication of geese can enable us to have a deeper understanding of animal domestication, genetic adaptation and the development process of human history (Jing et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2023). The goose is one of the earliest poultry species raised by humans. Evidence shows that the domestication history of geese in China can be traced back more than 7 000 years ago, making them useful samples for understanding the interrelationship between human society and animal genetic resources (Eda et al., 2022). The study of goose domestication can also provide references for goose conservation methods, breeding plans, as well as the genetic basis of important economic characteristics such as growth, reproduction, and feather color (Wen et al., 2021; Wen et al., 2022; Gao et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2023). This study will explore the origin of domestic geese. Genetic research indicates that during the evolution of domestic geese, there are complex situations such as gene exchange, breed mixing and artificial selection. Hybridization exists between wild goose flocks and domestic goose groups, as well as between native Chinese breeds and European breeds. Although some progress has been made, the current research still faces some difficulties: the sample collection of goose breeds worldwide is not yet comprehensive, ancient DNA materials are relatively scarce, and there are still many questions about when, where and in what way domestic geese were domesticated and spread. In the future, by integrating genetic research, archaeological discoveries and historical
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==