Friday, December 5, 2014

Cat Genome Reveals Clues to Domestication

     Although cats have been domesticated for approximately 9,000 years, this is a relatively short time period when compared to other animals like dogs that have been domesticated for at least 18,000 years. In order to find DNA proof of the domestication of cats, the genomes of domestic cats were compared to the genomes of wild cats. By determining which parts of the cat genome changed in response to living with humans, the genetics of domestication can be explored. It was found that the three areas that change the most in response to living with humans were areas involving fear, memory, and reward-seeking. Each of these different behaviors, especially when an animal will do something because it seeks a reward, are thought to be important to the process of domestication.

                               

     In order to determine the specific characteristics of domestication, the genomes of purebred cats were sequenced during the cat genome sequencing project of 2007. It turns out that docility, hair patterns, and hair color are all traits that are linked to domestication. This made sense because modern breeds are bred by humans to have some of these particular characteristics. A breed of cat called Birman were also investigated in this study. This breed of cat is notable for its characteristic white paws. After researching the reason behind this trait, it was found that Birmans have white paws due to just two small changes in the gene associated with hair color. In addition, this genetic change was shown to be present in all Birman cats. Due to this, it can be shown that humans bred these cats selectively for their white paws and that this change in their genome occurred over a short period of time.

    
     I find this article interesting because it describes the relationship between genetics and domestication. By discovering that domestication involves changing a species on a genetic level, it can be concluded that any animal can be domesticated given enough time for these changes to occur. Therefore, by domesticating new animals of different types, humans will be better able to use animals to complete tasks or keep them as pets.

3 comments:

  1. I did a similar article but it was about the domestication of dogs. I find it interesting that they can find out the domestication of cats by coat color. Dogs domestication was found by testing the DNA of dog fossils.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a interesting article because how they can tell the domestication by hair color or hair pattern. This article is good because it relates genetics and domestication concepts. Plus cats are cute and fun to play with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I found this article interesting because i didn't know that hair color could be affected by domestication, which makes sense because humans select for specific colors when breeding cats, or any animal for that matter. But I never thought of it on a genetic/domestication level.

    ReplyDelete