生物谷報道：一個國際科學家小組6月28日報告說,，他們對家貓和野貓亞種進行的大規(guī)?；蚍治霰砻?，世界各地家貓的祖先都是近東地區(qū)的野貓,。
美國,、英國,、德國、以色列等國的科學家在報告中說,，近東地區(qū)（通常指地中海東部沿岸地區(qū)）的農(nóng)民應該是最早開始馴養(yǎng)野貓的,，后來這一地區(qū)的人向歐洲、美洲等其他地區(qū)遷徙,，可能將馴化后的貓帶在身邊,，才使得家貓分布到世界各地。
科學家們介紹說,，現(xiàn)在的家貓和野貓由于高度雜交,，單從外貌已很難區(qū)分開來，因此他們在研究中分析了979只不同種類家貓和野貓的基因異同,。
科學家們選取了包括歐洲野貓,、近東野貓,、中亞野貓、南非野貓以及中國荒漠貓在內(nèi)的一些野貓亞種的DNA（脫氧核糖核酸）樣本,，然后和家貓基因樣本對比分析,。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，野貓亞種以及家貓按基因的差異可劃分為不同的“進化枝”,。其中家貓和來自近東地區(qū)的一些野貓隸屬于一個“進化枝”,，這表明，該地區(qū)的野貓是最早被人類馴養(yǎng)的貓,。這些野貓的后代目前仍生活在以色列,、沙特阿拉伯以及中東其他一些國家偏遠的沙漠地區(qū)。
科學家們還分析發(fā)現(xiàn),，野貓大約從10萬年前就開始被馴養(yǎng),，這比此前人們認為的要早。
上述研究成果將刊登在6月29日出版的新一期《科學》雜志上,。（引自新華網(wǎng) ）
原始出處:
Published Online June 28, 2007
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1139518
Submitted on January 4, 2007
Accepted on June 18, 2007
The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication
Carlos A. Driscoll 1*, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond 2, Alfred L. Roca 3, Karsten Hupe 4, Warren E. Johnson 2, Eli Geffen 5, Eric Harley 6, Miguel Delibes 7, Dominique Pontier 8, Andrew C. Kitchener 9, Nobuyuki Yamaguchi 10, Stephen J. O'Brien 2*, David Macdonald 10*
1 Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
2 Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
3 Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, SAIC-Frederick Inc., NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
4 Jagd Einrichtungs Büro, Am Sahlbach 9a, 37170 Fürstenhagen, Germany.
5 Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
6 Division of Chemical Pathology, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa.
7 Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Avda Maria Luisa s/n Pabellón del Perú, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
8 UMR-CNRS 5558 Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.
9 Department of Geology and Zoology, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, Scotland, UK.
10 Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Carlos A. Driscoll , E-mail: [email protected]
Stephen J. O'Brien , E-mail: [email protected]
David Macdonald , E-mail: [email protected]
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 - sub Saharan 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, likely coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region, whose descendents were subsequently transported across the world by human assistance.
