title: The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication.
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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA. driscoll@ncifcrf.gov
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Menotti-Raymond
authors.forename: Alfred L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hupe
authors.forename: Warren E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Geffen
authors.forename: Eric H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Harley
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delibes
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pontier
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kitchener
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: O'brien
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Macdonald
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics*; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000235:genetics; D002415:Cats / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe; D006239:Haplotypes; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008877:Middle East; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D013995:Time
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial