Editing Dog breed (section)

===Basal breeds===
A study in 2012 examined 49,000 [[SNP genotyping|single nucleotide polymorphism]]s that gave a [[genome]]-wide coverage of 1,375 dogs representing 35 breeds, 19 wolves, and previous published genetic signatures of other breeds, giving a total of 121 breeds covered. The study found a deep genetic split between old-world and new-world wolves, and confirmed the genetic divergence of 13 breeds from a 2010 study ([[Afghan Hound]], [[Akita (dog)|Akita]], [[Alaskan Malamute]], [[American Eskimo]], [[Basenji]], [[Canaan dog]], [[Chow Chow]], [[Dingo]], [[New Guinea singing dog]], [[Saluki]], [[Samoyed (dog)|Samoyed]], [[Shar-Pei]], [[Siberian Husky]]), plus another three: the [[Eurasier]], [[Finnish Spitz]] and [[Shiba Inu]]. The study referred to these 16 as [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] breeds, as opposed to ancient breeds, as they exhibited genetic divergence but not all of them were historically considered to be "ancient breeds".<ref name=larson2012/>
[[image:Phylogenetic tree of ancient dog breeds.png|right|400px|thumb|Phylogenetic tree of ancient dog breeds]]
The 2012 study found that modern breeds only emerged in the 19th century and that claims of their antiquity are based on little or no historical or empirical evidence. The study indicated that throughout history, global dog populations experienced numerous episodes of diversification and homogenization, with each round further reducing the power of genetic data derived from modern breeds to help infer their early history.<ref name=larson2012/>

Of the basal breeds, the [[American Eskimo Dog]] and [[Eurasier]] were the very recent product of cross-breeding other basal breeds. Most basal breeds have hybridized with other lineages in the past. If those other lineages were other basal breeds then a basal genetic signature remains. The combination of introgression and past population bottlenecks suggested that basal breeds have little or no genetic connections to their ancestral populations and that their genetic distinctiveness does not signify ancient heritage. They are distinctive from the modern breeds because the genetic heritage of the modern breeds has become blurred due to admixture, and the basal breeds have mostly avoided admixture with them due to geographic or cultural barriers.<ref name=larson2012/>