The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication
Resource type
Journal article
Creator (person)
Driscoll, C A
Menotti-Raymond, M
Roca, A L
Hupe, K
Johnson, W E
Geffen, E
Harley, E H
Delibes, M
Pontier, D
Kitchener, Andrew C
Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki
O'Brien, S J
Macdonald, David W
Date published
July 27, 2007
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.
Journal title
Science
Volume
317
Issue
5837
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
ISSN
1095-9203
Official URL
Additional information
FELIS-SILVESTRIS; WILD; POPULATIONS; RADIATION