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The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication

  1. Author:
    Driscoll, C. A.
    Menotti-Raymond, M.
    Roca, A. L.
    Hupe, K.
    Johnson, W. E.
    Geffen, E.
    Harley, E. H.
    Delibes, M.
    Pontier, D.
    Kitchener, A. C.
    Yamaguchi, N.
    O'Brien, S. J.
    Macdonald, D. W.

  2. Author Address

    NCI, Lab Genom Divers, Frederick, MD 21702 USA. Univ Oxford, Dept Zool, Wildlife Conservat Res Unit, Oxford OX1 3PS, England. NCI, Lab Genom Divers, SAIC Frederick Inc, Frederick, MD 21702 USA. JagdEinrichtungsBuro, D-37170 Furstenhagen, Germany. Tel Aviv Univ, Dept Zool, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel. Univ Cape Town, Div Chem Pathol, Observ, ZA-7925 Cape Town, South Africa. CSIC, Dept Appl Biol, Estac Biol Donana, Seville 41013, Spain. Univ Lyon 1, CNRS, Biometrie & Biol Evolut UMR 5558, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France. Natl Museums Scotland, Dept Nat Sci, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, Midlothian, Scotland. Univ Edinburgh, Inst Geog, Sch Geosci, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Midlothian, Scotland.;Macdonald, DW, NCI, Lab Genom Divers, Frederick, MD 21702 USA.;driscoll@ncifcrf.gov obrien@ncifcrf.gov david.macdonald@zoology.oxford.ac.uk
    1. Year: 2007
    2. Date: Jul
  2. Journal: Science
    1. 317
    2. 5837
    3. Pages: 519-523
  4. Type of Article: Article
  5. ISSN: 0036-8075
  1. Abstract:

    The world's domestic cats carry patterns of sequence variation in their genome that reflect a history of domestication and breed development. A genetic assessment of 979 domestic cats and their wild progenitors-Felis silvestris silvestris ( European wildcat), F. s. lybica ( Near Eastern wildcat), F. s. ornata ( central Asian wildcat), F. s. cafra ( southern African wildcat), and F. s. bieti ( Chinese desert cat)indicated that each wild group represents a distinctive subspecies of Felis silvestris. Further analysis revealed that cats were domesticated in the Near East, probably coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region, whose descendants were transported across the world by human assistance.

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External Sources

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  2. DOI: 10.1126/science.1139518
  3. View record in Web of Science®
  4. WOS: 000248339800047

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