ArticleGenetics2014
The "domestication syndrome" in mammals: a unified explanation based on neural crest cell behavior and genetics.
Article in Genetics, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 294 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
294 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 767 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Comprehensive transcriptomics comparison reveals switch of gene networks in the brain during silkworm domestication.Insect science · 2026Article
- Invisible attitudes have visible effects on the behaviour of animals in scientific studies.Animal cognition · 2026Article
- Neural crest cell biology shapes lizard skull evolution across evolutionary time scales.Evolution letters · 2026Article
- The Molecular Exposome of Visible Age Reversal: From Organ-Skin Axes to Regenerative Aesthetics.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
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- Behavior in Australian Shepherd Dogs Assessed Using the C-BARQ: A Preliminary Study of Associations with Coat Color, Sex, and Neutering Status.Veterinary sciences · 2026Article
- Enrichment of Neural Crest Cells by Antibody Labeling and Flow Cytometry for Single-Cell Transcriptomics in a Lizard.Evolution & development · 2026Article
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- Ethological Constraints and Welfare-Related Bias in Laboratory Mice: Implications of Housing, Lighting, and Social Environment.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Behavioural manifestations of human-directed social motivation in dogs.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Complexity of Communication in Mammals: From Social and Emotional Mechanisms to Human Influence and Multimodal Applications.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Review: Genomic insights into the adaptive traits and stress resistance in modern horses.Stress biology · 2026Review
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- Companion animals support human wellbeing and health: evolutionary, behavioral and physiological contexts.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Dogs of War: The Effect of War-Inflicted Environmental Damage on Free-Ranging Domestic Dogs.Evolutionary applications · 2025Article
234 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Charles Darwin, while trying to devise a general theory of heredity from the observations of animal and plant breeders, discovered that domesticated mammals possess a distinctive and unusual suite of heritable traits not seen in their wild progenitors. Some of these traits also appear in domesticated birds and fish. The origin of Darwin's "domestication syndrome" has remained a conundrum for more than 140 years. Most explanations focus on particular traits, while neglecting others, or on the possible selective factors involved in domestication rather than the underlying developmental and genetic causes of these traits. Here, we propose that the domestication syndrome results predominantly from mild neural crest cell deficits during embryonic development. Most of the modified traits, both morphological and physiological, can be readily explained as direct consequences of such deficiencies, while other traits are explicable as indirect consequences. We first show how the hypothesis can account for the multiple, apparently unrelated traits of the syndrome and then explore its genetic dimensions and predictions, reviewing the available genetic evidence. The article concludes with a brief discussion of some genetic and developmental questions raised by the idea, along with specific predictions and experimental tests.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.