(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists from the University of Missouri and the MIT College of Veterinary Medicine have identified the root cause of the domestication of cats ten thousand years ago.
They believe that this has led to a change in the lifestyle of people.
In the process, experts collected and analyzed the DNA of cats in the Fertile Crescent region.
One of the main factors that attracted the attention of scientists was microsatellites, which mutate very quickly and tell about the latest cat populations, as well as the development of the breed over the past few hundred years.
Another key marker was single nucleotide polymorphisms, which are single changes throughout the genome.
The results of the analysis supported the theory that cats were probably first domesticated only in the Fertile Crescent before migrating with humans around the world.
Scientists emphasize that in fact, cats should be called semi-domesticated, because if they are released into the wild, they will prey on smaller animals and will be able to survive and mate on their own.
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