Domestication of the cat, Felis catus.
Britt Bianca Ploss
I’ve read three articles due to write this assignment; “The ascent of
cat breeds: Genetic evaluations of breeds and worldwide random bred populations”,
“State of cat genomics”, and “The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication”.
The cat is one of the most popular and loved pets in the world, beside
the dog. The cat is very affectionate, graceful and elegant, but yet also
an independent creature. How did the cat get domesticated, and where does
it originate from?
The methods used in the articles were microsatellite marker, DNA sampling
and genotyping approximately 1900 cats representing several breeds from
several continents. The data showed that Felis silvestris lybica (Near
Eastern wildcat) is most likely the ancestors of the domestic cat, and
the estimated age for the Felis silvestris lybica is 131 000 years.
The origins of cat domestication, from being wild to be living with humans,
occurred approximately 9,500 years ago in the Near East/Mediterranean.
The cats began to feed on the crop-rodents that were destroying the grain
stores of the farmers, and that is how the human-cat relationship started.
The very beginning of domestication might have begun thousands of years
earlier, but the earliest archeological evidence of cat-human co-occurrence
is set to 9,500 years ago.
Driscoll et al. (2007) found that all domestic cats, pedigree cats, and
feral cats fell in the same category, including Near Eastern wildcats.
They investigated the relationship of domestic cats and the Felis silvestris
ssp. They took DNA sampling and genotyped 851 cats for 36 short tandem
repeat (STR), and sequenced 2604 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
genes. This showed that the domestic cats are originating from the Near
Eastern wildcats, and that the domestication origin was in the Near East.
Modern cat breeds derive from Siamese, Egyptian Mau, Korat and other fancy
breeds, and they were established in the 17th century and onwards till
today. Breeders are still cross-breeding and come up with new breeds or
hybrids. There are today over 40 different breeds, from the smallest Singapura
to the big Maine Coon.
Breed selection is often based on aesthetics, on traits such as coat color,
eye colour, length of the tail, ear shape etc. As cute and friendly as
cats can look like, they are still predators and they have great hunting
skills. They hunt even when provided food, and they show a great range
of behaviour, depending among others on the personality etc. Cats are
therefore independent creatures, and benefits the humans by hunting rodents
and other pest animals.
Lipinski et al. (2008) conclude that the gene flow between feral cats
and domestic modern cats, and their wild subspecies, has no negative effect
in the ecosystem.
I think that living with humans from a cat’s aspect is much better than
if it’s feral or is a wildcat and has to survive on its own. They will
be protected and given food, shelter and medicines when needed. That has
improved their lifestyle. A feral cat has to fight and struggle to survive,
and the strongest survives. Interfering with animals or companion pets,
e.g. artificial selection like pedigree breeding, makes a huge impact
on the genes and the geneflow. If it is for the better or the worse I
don’t know!
REFERENCES
A.Driscoll CA, Menotti-Raymond M, Roca AL, Hupe K, Johnson WE, Geffen
E, Harley EH, Delibes M, Pontier D, Kitchener AC, Yamaguchi N, O'Brien
SJ, Macdonald DW, et al. The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication.
Science. 2007 Jul 27;317(5837):519–23.
B. O’Brien SJ, Johnson W, Driscoll C, Pontius J, Pecon-Slattery J, Menotti-Raymond
M, et al. State of cat genomics. Trends genet. 2008 Jun;24(6):268-279.
C.Lipinski MJ, Froenicke L, Baysac KC, Billings NC, Leutenegger CM, Levy
AM, Longeri M, Niini T, Ozpinar H, Slater MR, Pedersen NC, Lyons LA, et
al. Ascent of cat breeds: Genetic evaluations of breeds and worldwide
random bred populations. Genomics. 2008 Jan;91(1):12-21.