Most of the variation in cat breeds was observed within a breed population (83.7%), versus 16.3% of the variation observed between populations.
Modern cat breeds have been established in multiple ways. Natural breeds arose in specific geographic regions that experienced some degree of isolation, which resulted in fixation of alleles for distinctive morphological traits of the breed.
As a consequence of small effective population sizes, founder effects, and population bottlenecks, cat breeds have become repositories of spontaneous mutations causative of hereditary disease. Over 200 hereditary diseases have been reported in cat populations, many with homologous counterparts in humans [12].
“Variant breeds” typically differ from one of the older established breeds on the basis of a single allele introduced by outcross, followed by backcross to establish the trait (i.e., the Himalayan is a variant of the Persian, generated from crosses with the Siamese to introduce the “pointed” phenotype [5], [6]) ( Table 2 ).
Genetic variation in cat breeds was assessed utilizing a panel of short tandem repeat (STR) loci genotyped in 38 cat breeds and 284 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 24 breeds. Population structure in cat breeds generally reflects their recent ancestry and absence of strong breed barriers between some breeds.
The domestic cat, Felis catus, is one of the most recently evolved members of the Felidae, a family that has generated some of the most charismatic mammalian species in a rapid radiation over the past 11 million years [1].
We have previously described a panel of highly polymorphic tetranucleotide repeat STR loci, selected for their informativeness in cat breeds, to be utilized in the forensic analysis of domestic cat specimens [8]. A population genetic database of 38 cat breeds was generated by genotyping the panel in a sample set of 1040 individuals (M.
We have recently reported on a Fertile Crescent origin for the domestication of F. catus from the Near Eastern wildcat, Felis lybica, based on patterns of molecular genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA and 36 STR loci in a sample set of 851 individuals [13].
Blood and/or buccal swab samples of 1040 individuals representing 38 cat breeds recognized by the CFA or TICA were obtained from cat breeders ( n = 611) through request for samples in directed mailings or contact with cat breeders at cat shows organized by CFA or TICA.
Interagency Grant 1999-IJ-R-A079 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, to the National Cancer Institute’s Laboratory of Genomic Diversity supported this project.
Supplementary Figure 1. Phylogenetic neighbor-joining tree of individuals from 28 cat breeds, the Sand cat, African wild cat and European wild cat based on distance matrices generated from proportion of shared alleles algorithm (Dps) from composite genotypes. Bootstrap support for branches supported in more than 60% of 100 replicates are indicated.
So, dogs are more varied because we made them that way, and cats were already what we needed, so we didn’t need to change them.
Cats, on the other hand, were used because they would hunt mice, or other small creatures. In other words, humans didn’t need to change them in any way to do the job that we wanted them to do. It was already what they did.
Expanding a bit on what Sarah said, dogs have been selectively bred for specific purposes as well as appearance, while cats are generally owned for their mousing ability, which requires no change to the basic cat anatomy or simply for companionship. I think the variation we see in cats is due to selective breeding for appearance and personality rather than function.
This is because dogs possess uniquely malleable DNA that allows specific genetic traits such as size, temperament, snout shape, tail length, etc. to be easily altered by selective breeding. In just a few short generations and breeding cycles, humans are now able to breed the perfect dog to suit their needs.
They’ve been bred as livestock guardians, people guardians, herders, hunters, food, and even for their fur (to be used like wool - for cloth).
This is because dogs possess uniquely malleable DNA that allows specific genetic traits such as size, temperament, snout shape, tail length, etc. to be easily altered by selective breeding. In just a few short generations and breeding cycles, humans are now able to breed the perfect dog to suit their needs.
Continue Reading. It’s because dogs have, and have had, for over 10,000 years, a function - a job. And, on top of that, what makes a dog a dog, instead of a wolf, is that they bind themselves to humans, and they understand more human body language than other animals. In that way, they are smarter than chimpanzees.
So, dogs are more varied because we made them that way, and cats were already what we needed, so we didn’t need to change them.
Cats, on the other hand, were used because they would hunt mice, or other small creatures. In other words, humans didn’t need to change them in any way to do the job that we wanted them to do. It was already what they did.
Expanding a bit on what Sarah said, dogs have been selectively bred for specific purposes as well as appearance, while cats are generally owned for their mousing ability, which requires no change to the basic cat anatomy or simply for companionship. I think the variation we see in cats is due to selective breeding for appearance and personality rather than function.
This is because dogs possess uniquely malleable DNA that allows specific genetic traits such as size, temperament, snout shape, tail length, etc. to be easily altered by selective breeding. In just a few short generations and breeding cycles, humans are now able to breed the perfect dog to suit their needs.
They’ve been bred as livestock guardians, people guardians, herders, hunters, food, and even for their fur (to be used like wool - for cloth).
This is because dogs possess uniquely malleable DNA that allows specific genetic traits such as size, temperament, snout shape, tail length, etc. to be easily altered by selective breeding. In just a few short generations and breeding cycles, humans are now able to breed the perfect dog to suit their needs.
Continue Reading. It’s because dogs have, and have had, for over 10,000 years, a function - a job. And, on top of that, what makes a dog a dog, instead of a wolf, is that they bind themselves to humans, and they understand more human body language than other animals. In that way, they are smarter than chimpanzees.