The most up-to-date genetic map of cats has been made in the US and has already identified the cause of a new form of dwarfism
The most up-to-date genetic map of cats was created in the USA, the result of a collaboration between the University of Missouri and Texas A&M University. And it has already helped identify the cause of a new form of dwarfism.
It is not just a search for animal lovers and not just for veterinarians and experts in the field: cats often suffer from the same diseases as their human friends. But scientists don't have the genetic tools necessary to develop new tests and treatments for them.
For this reason, a team of researchers has developed a new high quality genomic sequence starting from an Abyssinian cat called Cinnamon, which has proved to be of fundamental help to theidentification of more complex DNA variants that cause disease.
In fact, by using 54 additional cat genomes to the pre-existing maps and comparing them with the Cinnamon genome, a genetic variant was found that had not previously been linked to the dwarfism in humans.
"High quality genomes are a prerequisite for computational experimentation (ie based on computer calculations, Ed) - reads the work - Felis_catus_9.0 it is currently the most up-to-date genome of a pet animal with high precision and improved gene annotation, serving as a benchmark for the discovery of genetic variants associated with many characteristics. This new genomic resource will provide a basis for the future practice of genomic medicine in cats and for comparative analyzes with other species ".
In future work, the team plans to expand the use of precision genomic medicine for cats using this and other resources, which could provide veterinarians with more informative genetic screening, early disease diagnosis and subsequent treatment options that will yield better results. with fewer side effects.
But not only. The tool could be very useful for research on wildlife conservation and investigations into how cats have been domesticated and divided into different breeds, which in turn could benefit from the new genome.
©PLOS Genetics
The work was published in PLOS Genetics.
The map is available at this link.
Sources of reference: ScienceDaily / PLOS Genetics
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