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Genomics journal, House cats,

Kitty Cat Traced to Middle East



A new genetic study published in this month’s Genomics journal shows that our favorite furry felines, from purebreds, mutts and feral, all can date their domestication back to those living in the Middle East. Tracked via genetic markers, through many twists and turns, they all hail from the same location.

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The study is one of the most extensive of its kind, and used 39 genetic identity markers – genetic microsatellites, or junk DNA – identified in 11,100 cats. These cats represented 17 populations of mutts, randomly bred felines, from Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as 22 recognized breeds. This DNA evidence adds to earlier archaeological evidence that pegged the Middle East as the home to all housecats. Jokes about making a holy trek each year to a cat-Mecca can be made now. "This work does support that significant genetic variation is found in cats from the Near East and Turkey, supporting the Fertile Crescent [as the housecats' site of origin]," co-author Leslie Lyons told Discovery News. "We support that cats were likely domesticated from the Near East from wildcats," added Lyons, an associate professor of genetics in the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. I’ll say right now that I am a cat lover of much vigor, and at 23 I’ve already owned 4 cats in my life. I love them to pieces, and my current Tabby is wandering around the house wondering why I won’t feed her at 5 in the morning. I think that question somewhat answers itself, at least to us it does; she’s harder to convince. So when I found out in Alan Weisman’s book The World Without Us that the domestic cat would survive humanity’s disappearance, I was ecstatic (did you know that the cockroach would not survive though?). Weisman showed that while the domesticated dog would die out without humans to feed it, the cat is self-sufficient enough that our departure would merely be seen as a momentary inconvenience. I can vouch personally for this viewpoint as well, having lived with overall 6 cats in my lifetime (I’ve owned 4, my brother 2). Granted we feed our cats, stroke them and give them somewhere warm to sleep, but more often than not their dinners are supplemented by a variety of critters, from mice to moths. As for somewhere safe to sleep, Weisman doesn’t specify how the humans are taken, so we’ll probably have just left our houses for the cats to keep for us. In all reality, our disappearance will only solidify their opinion of us as untrustworthy and unreliable. But this independence is also brought up in the research conducted by Lyons and her colleagues. It links back to their ancestors who, though domesticated, were bred for aesthetics and not temperament or function. In addition, this lack of evolutionary change – one would almost suggest that the cat is at the height of their evolutionary table – allows us to see their original groups of origin. For example, breeds that originated in America – such as the Maine Coon and the American Shorthair – are genetically very similar to Western European breeds. This is not surprising, considering the colonization of America was … you get the picture! Subsequently, breeds such as the Siamese, Burme and Korat all link back to southeast Asia; Egyptian Mau, Turkish Angora and Turkish Van breeds all link back to their namesakes; and the new African breed Sokoke is genetically similar to all cats from that region. I’ll finish this with a quote that I will always remember, mainly due to its probably truthfulness; cats were once worshiped as gods, they have not forgotten this! Joshua Hill, a Geek’s-Geek from Melbourne, Australia, Josh is an aspiring author with dreams of publishing his epic fantasy, currently in the works, sometime in the next 5 years. A techie, nerd, sci-fi nut and bookworm.


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Guest Column Joshua Hill -- Bio and Archives

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