Scientists identify genes that enabled the domestication of the wild cat
Place a domestic cat alongside his direct ancestor, the Wildcat of the Near East, and it will only take a minute to identify the differences. The two animals have an approximate size and shape and resemble, obviously, the cats. But the Wildcat is fierce, while the domestic cat-thanks to almost 10,000 years of domestication-is gentle and adaptable enough to have become one of the most popular domestic animals.Now, scientists have identified genetic changes that allowed this domestication. The discovery, based on a high-quality sequencing the genome of the cat, can open doors to further understand how other creatures, including humans, have become more tame over time.Cats entered the human society about 9,500 years ago, not long after humans begin the first agricultural practices in the Middle East. Attracted by rodents that invaded the barns, the Wildcats have migrated from deserts to the villages. To mingle with humans, scientists suspect, cats began a process of auto-domesticação, where the more friendly benefited from human leftovers and protection.In thousands of years, cats have decreased progressively in size, acquired a panoply of new colors and patterns of anti-social habits and lost hair from the past. The remaining domestic animals such as cows, pigs and dogs, have gone through similar transformations, although scientists still know very little about the genes involved in the evolution of these animals.But on the evolution of the cat already know much. And the team of scientists led by Michael Montague, post-doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Washington, has identified some of the genes involved in the change. The investigation began in 2007 and the findings have now been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and identify 281 genes that show signs of rapid or numerous genetic changes, a brand of recent selection in domestic cats.Some from 281 genes are involved with hearing and vision, while others are related to metabolic processes and an adaptation to a less carnivorous lifestyle. But one of the most intriguing findings emerged when the team has sequenced the genome of 22 domestic cats and bought with the genomes of two types of wild cats.Investigators found at least 13 genes that have changed as the cats evolved from fierce to tame. Some of these genes are associated with cognition and behavior, including responses to the fear and the ability to learn new behaviors in Exchange for rewards."The findings are consistent with what we know about the domestication of cats," says Michael Montague. "The right moment had to become less fearful about the people and places new and incentives in the form of food have helped this adaptation," explains the researcher, cites the News From Science.Foto: reineckefoto/Creative Commons
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