Cats can be More Than a Pet – as Their Dark Matter Unveils Human Diseases

Cat genome resembles the human genome more closely than nearly all other mammals. This allows the dark matter in cat genomes to shed light on human disease as per a study “Cats – telomere to telomere and nose to tail” at the University of Missouri, published in the journal Trends in Genetics.

Although cats are less commonly reared as a pet when compared to dogs, the former are more genetically similar to humans.

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‘Scientists find that the cat genome resembles the human genome more closely than nearly all other mammals. A specific population of the genome in cats – dark matter may help us better understand the human diseases for effective therapeutics.’

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“Comparative genetics can play a key role in precision medicine and translational medicine, particularly for inherited diseases that affect both cats and humans, such as polycystic kidney disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. As researchers, anything we can learn about identifying the causes of genetic diseases in cats or how to treat them can be useful for treating humans with the same disease,” says Leslie Lyons, a Gilbreath-McLorn endowed professor of comparative medicine in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine.

The study team has created a cat genome assembly that is nearly 100% complete and reveals the genome pattern of the cats.

Generally there are 3 billion base pairs of DNA in the genome of mammals. However only 2% of the DNA is employed (coded) to produce proteins for our natural body functions. The remaining 98% of DNA has no obvious functions and are termed as ‘Dark matter’ DNA.

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Dark Matter of Cats

These dark matters may play a regulatory role in turning certain genes on or off. But the exact function is unclear. The team anticipates that exploring the cat genome’s dark matter may provide insights on various human diseases due to their high similarity.

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If this speculation is successful, it may lead to the development of various therapies by turning those genomes on or off. One may even shut down a whole gene as in cases of cancer or any genetic diseases.

The author has successfully localized a specific mutation in the gene responsible for causing Chediak-Higashi syndrome in her previous work. It is a rare condition in both cats and humans that weakens the immune system, thereby allowing the body to be more vulnerable to infections.

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“For most rare conditions, we are getting pretty good at discovering genes where there is one single mutation that causes something good or bad, but most common diseases among the general public, such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and allergies, are often more complex. Since these are all common conditions that affect cats as well as humans, more research on comparing the cat and human genomes can help us one day possibly figure out which different genes and mechanisms are interplaying to create these complex diseases,” says Lyons.

Thus, getting a better understanding of the cat’s biology and genetic makeup allows us to also better understand humans' biology.

Source-Medindia