IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Yu, H.; Xing, Y.-T.; Meng, H.; He, B.; Li, W.-J.; Qi, X.Z.; Zhao, J.-Y.; Zhuang, Y.; Xu, X.; Yamaguchi, N.; Driscoll, C.A.; O'Brien, S.J.; Luo, S.-J. | |
| Genomic evidence for the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific (Felis silvestris) and its introgression to domestic cats | |
| 2021 Science Advances (7): 1-14 | |
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endemic Chinese mountain cat has a controversial taxonomic status, whether it is a true species or a wildcat (_Felis silvestris_) subspecies and whether it has contributed to cat (_F. s. catus_) domestication in East Asia. Here, we sampled _F. silvestris_ lineages across China and sequenced 51 nuclear genomes, 55 mitogenomes, and multilocus regions from 270 modern or museum specimens. Genome-wide analyses classified the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific_ F. s. bieti_, which was not involved in cat domestication of China, thus supporting a single domestication origin arising from the African wildcat (_F. s. lybica_). A complex hybridization scenario including ancient introgression from the Asiatic wildcat (_F. s. ornata_) to_ F. s. bieti_, and contemporary gene flow between _F. s. bieti_ and sympatric domestic cats that are likely recent Plateau arrivals, raises the prospect of disrupted wildcat genetic integrity, an issue with profound conservation implications. |
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