Cross Breeds

How so Many Breeds of Dogs Originate from Wolf ?

there are so many breeds of dogs recognized breeds are about 196 and there are many others also how so many breeds came to originate from WOLF? how they get so many different characters and features ? please give me some information

Public Comments

1. They are all originally from wolves,some are more evolved than others
2. All breeds of dog, whether they weigh 2lbs or 200, have no hair or a fluffy french hair cut, come from wolves. Every single one. They got their features through selective breeding. While some dogs may appear more wolf-like in their features, all breeds have nearly identical DNA, so they are not separated by much.
3. there are so many characters and features b/c of all the breeding. NO dog is truly "purebred". All dogs come from wolves.
4. MUTATIONS!!!! Mutations in the gene, normally that wouldn't survive in the wild, or help survive. Mutations that nature or humans desire. Humans domesticated the wolf to something that they like. IF a certain wolf is larger than others and the human liked that he/she would breed it untill there were many LARGER wolfs, breed those with each other and you got a new breed, same with dogs with shorter hair. In hotter places natural selection chooses the wolfs with less hair. *this is how the common cold is such a successful virus. It mutates easily, that is why there is NO cure, but it IS easy to get rid of.
5. ALL of them!! The domestic dog is a sub species of the grey wolf - canis lupus familiaris. It is thought that the primitive or pariah breeds of dogs may be more closely linked to the Asian or Indian wolves. Dogs are so much like wolves physiologically that they are frequently used in wolf studies as a physiological model for wolf body processes (Mech, L.D. 2003. Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation). Additionally, dogs and wolves share 99.8% of their mitochondrial DNA (Wayne, R.K. Molecular Evolution of the Dog Family). This next quote is from Robert K. Wayne, Ph.D., and his discussion on canine genetics - taken from www.fiu.edu/~milesk/Genetics.html "The domestic dog is an extremely close relative of the gray wolf, differing from it by at most 0.2% of mDNA sequence..." Dogs and wolves can freely interbreed and produce fertile offspring—even little dogs like Westies and Chihuahuas are capable of this! This is a dramatic indication that dogs and wolves are very closely related and are compatible in terms of genetics (incompatible animals do not produce viable, fertile offspring, such as donkeys and horses. Their offspring—the mule—is a sterile animal.). http://rawfed.com/myths/changed.html
6. 'simple' genetic variability The possible combination of genes is truly mind boggling. I don't know how many chromosomes that wolves have, but humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. The chromosomes themselves are comprised of DNA, which makes up our genes, which give each of us our distinctive and communal traits. i.e. You have blue eye, hairy arms, and flat feet (distinctive), but barring mutations, we all have 2 eyes, 2 arms 2 feet, etc. In humans, when the gametes (sex cells, sperm & egg) join during fertilization, the chromosomes are combined from each parent. 23 from mom, 23 from dad. That means that (2 to the 23rd power) squared or 70,368,744,000,000 chromosomally different zygotes (what the cells that are produced as a result of the fertilized egg are called - what you are in the very, very beginning) are possible, even if no crossing over occurs, which is a process whereby one chromosome from you dad can 'crossover' one of your mom's chromosomes and they exchange genetic information with one another, which adds to the possible genetic variability. If crossing-over occurs even ONCE between 2 chromosomes, then the possible variations climbs to (4 to the 23rd power)squared, which is 4,951,760,200,000,000,000,000,000,000. And keep in mind that crossing over usually occurs several times between EACH of the 23 pairs of chromosomes. So basically you're looking at a number that is not even calculable that represents the different genetic possibilities for offspring that EACH human couple may give birth too. And that's how so many breeds can originate from the wolf.