Ancient introgression drives wild boar expansion and phenotypic diversification of domestic pigs.

Ancient introgression from an archaic Suinae lineage contributed to the expansion and phenotypic diversity of wild boar populations across Eurasia, influencing traits like body size and cold adaptation.

• Why it matters: Understanding the origins and dispersal of wild boars is crucial for insights into their evolutionary history and domestication processes, which are still poorly understood.
• What they did: The study analyzed 745 genomes from Eurasian populations, revealing a Pliocene introgression event in South Asia that introduced a significant X-chromosomal haplotype associated with key adaptive traits.
• The result: This ancient genetic material was repeatedly selected during domestication to produce large-bodied pig breeds, highlighting how introgression shaped both wild and domestic pig evolution.