Dog Domestication linked to Adaptation to Starchy diet

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A new study in the journal Nature suggests an important key in the domestication of dogs from their wolf ancestors: diet. While wolves have a largely carnivorous diet, the new research findings indicate that adaptations allowing the ancestors of modern dogs to thrive on a diet rich in starch was an important step in becoming domesticated. Unlike wolves, modern dogs will eat almost anything including starches such as grains or our unattended ham sandwich. 

After researchers examined the genomes of both wolves and dogs, they found that one difference is that dogs have the ability to digest starch. As humans evolved and developed agrarian societies, dogs co-evolved as they found a new food source in the uneaten food refuse discarded by humans. As the early dogs evolved and developed key digestive enzymes to take advantage of this food resource on the outskirts of human settlements, they became able to tolerate close contact with people. Those early dogs that were least fearful of human contact were the most successful scavengers, so natural selection favored the transformation from shy wolf to more gregarious modern dogs.

While there is debate as to exactly when dogs became domesticated, this adaptation dates thousands of years back. even though dogs may have initially been attracted to humans for our food, over time, dogs learned to tolerate, accept and eventually crave human contact… and they won’t turn down a dog biscuit, either.