Patterns of Y and X chromosome DNA divergence during the Felidae radiation

This study examined sex-chromosome DNA sequences to estimate the timing and pattern of diversification across the cat family. By comparing X- and Y-linked markers, which evolve at different rates and have different inheritance, the authors gained additional perspective on felid relationships beyond mitochondrial and autosomal data. The work contributed to dating the radiation and to understanding rate variation among lineages. Sex chromosomes are useful in systematics because the male-only Y traces paternal history, complementing the maternally inherited mitochondrion and offering a check on introgression patterns. The paper is part of the body of molecular work from the 1990s that built toward the comprehensive felid phylogeny later published, and it illustrates the value of multiple, independently inherited genomic compartments in resolving rapid radiations.