Balkan brachicerous cattle – the first domesticated cattle in Europe

Abstract The present study aimed to compare mitochondrial diversity among Balkan Neolithic/Chalcolithic cattle and present day Shorthorn Rhodopean cattle (Busha) to throw a new insight into European cattle domestication. The results showed that both ancient- and present-day samples belonged to the macrohaplogroup T. From the 28 sequences (8 ancient and 20 modern), the T1 and T2 haplogroup represent about 3.6% (1/28; 1/28). The T3 haplogroup was with the highest frequency – 57% (16/28). Based on the SNPs on 16057A and 16133C, the new T6 haplogroup was proposed. This haplogroup represents 75% from the ancient and 20% from the present day Bulgarian brachicerous cattle population. The survey in GenBank data base did not find a similar motif, except for the recent Serbian Busha cattle. Overall, these results showed that: (i) The newly named T6 haplogroup is Balkan specific; (ii) The T6 haplogroup survives in present day Bulgarian rhodopean cattle; (iii) The Balkan brachicerous cattle is the oldest European cattle breed.