Housecat's Genes Traced to the Middle East

Since cat breeding was, and still is, more for aesthetic appearance qualities rather than for function, domestic cats remain fairly self-sufficient.

This same independence, tied to ancestral DNA coding, also keeps today's cats linked to their four groups of origin, since they haven't yet developed significant genetic differentiation from their earlier ancestors, no matter how apparently distant they may be.

For example, breeds that originated in America, such as the Maine Coon and the American Shorthair, are genetically very similar to Western European breeds.

Persian cats turn out to not be Persian at all.

"We would have expected Persians to be more Mediterranean, perhaps more like the Israeli or Turkish cats," said Lyons, who explained that Persian cats instead "seem more western."

Even the Japanese Bobtail traces back to Europe.

Siamese, Burmese and Korats, however, all show ancestral connections with southeast Asian cats, while the new African breed, Sokoke, is indeed most like cats from Kenya. Egyptian Mau, Turkish Angora and Turkish Van breeds all hold true to their namesakes, as they possess strong Mediterranean genetic influences.

The researchers further determined that as cat breeding continues, genetic diversity in felines can lessen, which increases the likelihood of DNA-linked disorders, such as polycystic kidney disease in Persians and blindness in certain breeds.

Elaine Ostrander, head of the comparative genetics section at the National Institutes of Health, conducted a similar genetic study on purebred domestic dogs. She's also concerned about DNA ties to health disorders, but believes these kinds of studies help in the fight against animal disease.

In terms of "how modern breeds are related to one another genetically," Ostrander said, "The answer to this question has important implications for trying to identify disease genes, because if we know a subset of breeds that share a common lineage, then we know to group them together when we're working on a particular disease."

Related Links:

Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal

Leslie Lyons' Home Page at UC Davis

How Stuff Works: How Cats Purr

Cat Genome Project