IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Gehle, T.; Herzog, S. | |
| Sense and nonsense of wildcat and domestic cat differentiation by genetic markers (Sinn und Unsinn einer Differenzierung von Wild- und Hauskatze mit Hilfe genetischer Marker) | |
| 2012 S„ugetierkundliche Informationen (45): 351-358 | |
The determination of European wild cat (_Felis silvestris silvestris_) and domestic cat (_Felis silvestris catus_) increasingly employs molecular genetic methods. To distinguish between both forms, microsatellites are commonly used. Using three selected studies as an example, it is shown that these methods do not represent qualitative, but quantitative methods, comparable to the differentiation by means of morphometrics such as bowel length, skull characteristics or coat pattern. Consequently, an identification based of such methods is ambiguous. A unique and therefore qualitative determination of a single animal would be possible, if only a single microsatellite marker could be found, being fixed in wild and domestic form each with another genetic variant. This would also allow the identification of hybrids, regardless of their phenotypic prediction. Previously published results of genetic characterization of Felis silvestris lead to the hypothesis that no qualitative characters between domestic and wild cats are to be found even in future research. Thus, a synoptic view of all known differentiators should play a far more important than determining experiments with microsatellites. |
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