A very large international team of researchers has identified the origin of the domesticated chicken. In their paper published in the journal Cell Research, the group outlines the extensive genetic study they conducted and what they learned from it.

一個大型國際研究小組已經確定了家養雞的起源│·₪▩·。發表在《細胞研究》雜誌上的論文中◕✘↟，該小組概述了他們進行的廣泛的基因研究◕✘↟，以及他們的研究成果│·₪▩·。

Until now, the origin of the domesticated chicken has remained up for debate, though most in the field have suspected that it got its start somewhere in China (sometime around 7500 B.C.E.) and involved one or more subspecies of red jungle fowl. In recent times, researchers claim to have found evidence of the birds originating in northern China and the Indus Valley. The researchers with this new effort contradict that finding, reporting evidence of an origin in southwestern parts of China, northern Thailand and Myanmar. In either event, once the bird was domesticated, all agree it was transported and bred on every continent except Antarctica.

到目前為止◕✘↟，關於家養雞的起源一直存在爭議◕✘↟，但大多數學者都懷疑家雞可能起源自中國某地(大約公元前7500年)◕✘↟，涉及紅色原雞的一個或多個亞種│·₪▩·。最近◕✘↟，有研究人員聲稱發現了這種鳥類起源於中國北部和印度河流域的證據│·₪▩·。該小組的研究人員對這一發現進行了反駁◕✘↟，小組研究人員報告了在家養雞起源自中國西南部·☁₪、泰國北部和緬甸的證據│·₪▩·。無論如何◕✘↟，一旦這種鳥被馴化◕✘↟，所有研究人員都認為這種鳥一旦被馴化◕✘↟，就可以在除南極洲以外的各個大陸上運輸和繁殖│·₪▩·。

Understanding chickens is important: they not only represent the most populous bird (they outnumber other species by a very large number) but they also represent the single largest source of animal protein in the human diet. They have also played a major role in human migration history.

瞭解雞很重要:雞不僅是數量最多的鳥類(家養雞的數量比其他物種多得多)◕✘↟，而且雞還是人類飲食中最大的動物蛋白來源│·₪▩·。雞在人類遷徙史上也扮演了重要的角色│·₪▩·。

The new study involved collecting and sequencing 863 genomes in all: of that total, 787 involved whole genome sequencing, 162 of which were from domestic chickens. Also, 142 of the specimens came from birds representing all of the subspecies of red jungle fowl. And 12 were from green jungle fowl, two were from gray jungle fowl and four were from Ceylon jungle fowl.

這項新的研究共收集和測序了863個基因組◕✘↟，並對其中的787個基因組進行了全基因組測序◕✘↟，其中162個基因組來自家雞│·₪▩·。另外◕✘↟，142個標本來自紅色原雞的所有亞種的鳥類│·₪▩·。綠原雞12個◕✘↟，灰原雞2個◕✘↟，錫蘭原雞4個│·₪▩·。



紅原雞



綠原雞

The researchers were able to use the resulting data to piece together the place where chickens were first domesticated: southwestern parts of China, northern Thailand, and Myanmar. They also found that the birds that eventually became the modern domestic chicken were originally a red jungle fowl subspecies called Gallus gallus spadiceus. The data also showed that after the birds were carried off to other parts of Asia, they were bred with other red jungle fowl and also other jungle fowl species. The researchers also found that domestic chickens diverged from Gallus gallus spadiceus between 9,500 and 3,300 years ago, which was much later than the time when first domestication began.

研究人員能夠利用這些資料拼湊出雞最初被馴化的地方:中國的西南部·☁₪、泰國北部和緬甸│·₪▩·。研究人員還發現◕✘↟，最終成為現代家雞的鳥類是一種紅色原雞亞種◕✘↟，被稱為紅原雞的滇南亞種│·₪▩·。資料還顯示◕✘↟，這些鳥被帶到亞洲其他地區後◕✘↟，與其他紅色原雞和其他原雞品種一起繁殖│·₪▩·。研究人員還發現◕✘↟，大概9500年到3300年錢◕✘↟，家雞從滇南亞種原雞分化出來◕✘↟，這比人類首次馴化家雞的時間要晚得多│·₪▩·。