Genetic Diversity of Cat Breeds

The table above presents the genetic diversity that is found within the various cat breeds for over 30 genetic markers. The markers are not indicators of any type of disease or defect. Numbers in parentheses (28) implying the number of cats analyzed. We prefer to have at least 30 cats per breed, but larger breeds should have more cat representatives, while smaller breeds can have less. The goal is to represent the different lines for each breed (within the United States) and the cats that are continuing to produce the next generations. The FIS value is an inbreeding coefficient developed by a prominent geneticist, Sewell Wright. Populations should become concerned when their FIS value drops significantly below 0.25. Many inbred wild populations have values below 0.10 and these are managed to improve their genetic diversity. This table shows that many of the cat breeds have very similar FIS values. Several cat breeds such as Sokoke, Korat, Norwegian Forest Cats, Burmese and Egyptian Mau, are on the borderline for concerns about genetic diversity. Intuitively, cat breeds with small numbers and few colors should have less genetic diversity, whereas larger breeds with many colors should have more genetic variation. But, this is balanced with other selection pressures, such as how long the breed has been in existence and how often the breed goes through large bottlenecks (such as a very popular stud being used extensively).

Surprisingly, the Chartreux, which comes in one color and is not a large breed, has significant genetic diversity. But, some of these samples were collected in the UK, thus we will be portioning the data to see if this makes a significant difference. Additionally, the data can be portioned based on organizational registration, such as CFA or TICA.

Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) A PIC value is another way to measure genetic diversity in populations. PIC values are used to select the best markers that can be used for a very powerful parentage testing panel using genetic markers. A PIC value does not necessarily directly correspond to the within breed genetic diversity. From this information, we can select the best genetic markers that can be used for identification of cats and for parentage determinations. For example, cat breeds are has overall PIC values above 0.60 and this includes most populations. Dogs breeds have more inconsistent PIC values and they are very breed specific, thus it is more difficult to develop a parentage panel that will work across all breeds. Conversely, we can identify genetic markers that are very different across breeds. This would help assign a cat to a particular breed if it was in dispute. Examples of how breeds differ with specific markers are given below.

The Lamu and Faza populations are feral cats from small islands off the coast of Kenya. Breeds implies are breeds summed together. Cornell, Davis, Korea, abd Australia are random bred cats from those areas. Thank you to Dr. Betsy Arnold for supplying the samples from her clinic in Upstate New York.

Specific Examples:

Marker FCA094 has good genetic diversity across all breeds thus is likely to be part of a parentage testing panel.

Marker FCA035 shows more divergent results across cat breeds. It would not be the best choice for parentage testing, but may be useful to identify an individual as a particular breed of cat. For example, Turkish Angoras do not have any genetic variation for this marker, thus all Turkish Angoras should have only one genetic type.

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