Scientists have recruited a new ally in their battle to fight disease: domestic moggies. The Guardian reports they believe the genetic profiles of cats contain crucial clues about diseases to which humans and felines are both susceptible. These illnesses include diabetes, asthma and some causes of blindness.
To exploit the connection, researchers have launched a genome sequencing project, called 99 Lives, which aims to determine the exact genetic profiles of 99 domestic cats. The results should provide them with data that could generate new medicines for treating both cats and humans for such illnesses, they say. In addition, the project should provide data that will help zoologists track down the evolutionary origins of the domestic cat.
In 2004 a team led by Professor Leslie Lyons, of the University of Missouri, discovered that the genetic mutations that cause the disease occur in the same gene in humans and cats. "That has given us a new approach to studying the disease," Lyons said. "We are now studying other parts of the cat genome to see if these pieces of DNA have an influence on the speed and severity of the spread of PKD in an animal. There is a lot of variation both among cats – and among humans – in the way that PKD takes effect. And once we understand these influences we may able to design drugs that could counter PKD, and then test them on cats. That will be of help for both cats and humans. In addition, the discovery has allowed us to create a test to let breeders know if a cat is susceptible to kidney disease and so help create future breeds that will be unaffected by the condition."
However, when it came to looking at other diseases shared by humans and cats, scientists found there was a lack of genetic information. The first full canine genome was worked out in 2005 and the DNA of dozens of other dogs of various species has been sequenced since. By contrast, the first full genome of a cat – an Abyssinian called Cinnamon – was not published until late 2014, it has been revealed.
As a result Lyons has launched 99 Lives. The project will allow researchers to trace, in detail, the origins of the house cat.
[link url="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/24/cat-genes-clues-treatments-asthma-diabetes"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
[link url="http://www.nature.com/news/i-can-haz-genomes-cats-claw-their-way-into-genetics-1.16708"]Nature article[/link]
[link url="http://felinegenetics.missouri.edu/ninety-nine-lives"]99 Lives project[/link]