Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome and domestication signatures

Montague and colleagues produced a high-quality domestic cat reference genome and compared it with wild felids and other mammals to find the genetic footprint of domestication. They detected selection signals in genes affecting neural crest development, fear response, reward-seeking behaviour and stimulus-response learning, consistent with the idea that tameness is the trait humans inadvertently selected. The study also catalogued the cat's specialized sensory and dietary biology: an obligate carnivore's genes for fat metabolism, a sharpened sense of smell tuned to pheromones, and high-acuity vision. Because cats were only lightly domesticated and still interbreed freely with wildcats, their genome retains far more wild character than the dog's, making it a valuable model for studying the earliest, gentlest stages of animal domestication.