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Were dairy cows bred or did they evolve?

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The modern dairy cow has been shaped through domestication. Cattle were originally selected for domestication for 3 reasons: labor, meat, and milk. Eventually the breeds of cattle we know today evolved through selection for the most efficient animal for the job that needed to be done. read more

Using computer simulations they found that the DNA differences could only have arisen if a small number of animals, approximately 80, were domesticated from wild ox (aurochs). The study is published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. read more

Holstein cows are perhaps the most recognized breed of dairy cattle and are the most common dairy breed in the U.S. They have distinctive black and white or red and white markings. The red and white coloring is a recessive gene that appears when both the dam (mother) and sire (father) are carriers or exhibit the trait themselves. read more

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