Post by Thornpelt on Jan 27, 2008 16:17:59 GMT -5
Genetics
A study by the National Cancer Institute published in the journal Science asserts that all house cats are descended from a group of self-domesticating desert wildcats Felis silvestris lybica circa 10,000 years ago, in the Near East. All wildcat subspecies can interbreed, but domestic cats are all genetically contained within F. s. lybica.
The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor both possess 38 chromosomes, in which over 200 heritable genetic defects have been identified, many homologous to human inborn errors. Specific metabolic defects have been identified underlying many of these feline diseases. There are several genes responsible for the hair color identified. The combination of them gives different phenotypes.
Features like hair length, lack of tail or presence of a very short tail (bobtail cat) are also determined by single alleles and modified by polygenes.
The Cat Genome Project, sponsored by the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the U.S. National Cancer Institute Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center in Frederick, Maryland, focuses on the development of the cat as an animal model for human hereditary disease, infectious disease, genome evolution, comparative research initiatives within the family Felidae, and forensic potential.
It is a common misconception that all white cats with blue eyes are deaf, leading to some people rejecting blue-eyed white cats as pets. This is not true, as there are many blue-eyed cats with perfect hearing. However, white cats with blue eyes do have slightly higher incidences of genetic deafness than white cats of other eye colors.
All felines, including the big cats, have a genetic anomaly that may prevent them from tasting sweetness, which is a likely factor for their usual indifference to or avoidance of fruits, berries, and other sugary foods.
"Cat." Wikipedia. 27 Jan. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat>.
A study by the National Cancer Institute published in the journal Science asserts that all house cats are descended from a group of self-domesticating desert wildcats Felis silvestris lybica circa 10,000 years ago, in the Near East. All wildcat subspecies can interbreed, but domestic cats are all genetically contained within F. s. lybica.
The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor both possess 38 chromosomes, in which over 200 heritable genetic defects have been identified, many homologous to human inborn errors. Specific metabolic defects have been identified underlying many of these feline diseases. There are several genes responsible for the hair color identified. The combination of them gives different phenotypes.
Features like hair length, lack of tail or presence of a very short tail (bobtail cat) are also determined by single alleles and modified by polygenes.
The Cat Genome Project, sponsored by the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the U.S. National Cancer Institute Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center in Frederick, Maryland, focuses on the development of the cat as an animal model for human hereditary disease, infectious disease, genome evolution, comparative research initiatives within the family Felidae, and forensic potential.
It is a common misconception that all white cats with blue eyes are deaf, leading to some people rejecting blue-eyed white cats as pets. This is not true, as there are many blue-eyed cats with perfect hearing. However, white cats with blue eyes do have slightly higher incidences of genetic deafness than white cats of other eye colors.
All felines, including the big cats, have a genetic anomaly that may prevent them from tasting sweetness, which is a likely factor for their usual indifference to or avoidance of fruits, berries, and other sugary foods.
"Cat." Wikipedia. 27 Jan. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat>.