Cats and humans share similiar X and Y chromosomes

I have noticed that my cats often pick up human bugs from me. Not so much, if at all, for my dogs.

http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/04_00/cat_humans.shtml

By Sharon Guynup
April 21, 2000

Researchers, acting as "genetic paleontologists," recently discovered that the X and Y chromosomes of cats and humans are remarkably alike, despite the fact that the two species haven't shared a common ancestor for about 90 million years—around the same time the human line diverged from goats, sheep, and cows.

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William Murphy, Stephen O'Brien, and their colleagues at the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) examined 25 unique DNA sequences on the X chromosomes of cats, mice and human beings, and looked at eight genes on the Y chromosome—with startling results.

The order of these genes on the sex chromosomes of cats more closely resembles that of humans than of any other mammal studied so far, the team reports in a recent issue of Genome Research. Genes on X chromosomes of cats and people are lined up in the same way. This long-term chromosome stability is rare, showing no evidence of evolutionary rearrangements, says O'Brien. "It's like there was some master template that maintained the order of these genes on the X chromosome from the distant ancestors of these two mammalian orders."

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Furthermore, certain viruses behave in cats much as they do in humans. Feline leukemia and FIV, the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (which is very similar to HIV), rank high on this list.

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The house cat belongs to a family that has rich diversity in nature with 37 species. Males of certain of its wild relatives, notably the Florida panther, cheetah and clouded leopard, suffer from poor reproductive ability. As their populations dwindled, these species underwent evolutionary bottlenecks, leading to inbreeding. As a result, they have low sperm counts with a high degree of structural abnormalities in the sperm. While this is bad news for the species, it may make these cats good candidates for infertility studies. Such research might benefit not only humans, but the cats as well. "Every species except the house cat is threatened or endangered," says O'Brien. Research on human infertility might turn up ways to help the endangered wild cats.

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