A STUDY has found that Scotland’s wildcat population is “genomically extinct” due to extensive interbreeding with domestic cats.
The study found that some Scottish wildcats shared nearly three quarters of their genetic markers with domestic catson November 6 used DNA from modern and museum samples of both domestic cats and wildcats to track when hybridization of the species began.
The authors of the study say the marginal recovery of wildcats from an “exceedingly low” population contributed to the dilution of their genetics. “Our results indicate that the modern Scottish wildcat population is heavily admixed,” say the authors.Ironically, this interbreeding may have helped surviving wildcat populations hang on as their DNA was found to be rich in genes which help pets fight diseases such as feline leukemia.
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