A genetic map of over 60 loci has been developed in the domestic cat. A remarkable extent of linkage homology between the feline and human maps was discovered which was three to four times more conserved than the mouse-to-human genetic synteny (linkage homology). Nearly 40% of the human cytological map can be aligned, band-for-band, with syntenically homologous feline chromosomes. This degree of linkage homology was used to estimate chromosomal location of the human albino locus and to test for transposition of the proto-oncogene family during the over 80 million years of evolution which has elapsed since man and cat shared a common ancestor. The organization of three distinct endogenous retroviral families was studied and found to resemble endogenous retroviral families in other mammalian species, including man. Genetic loci, which encode a series of lysosomal enzymes involved in feline models of human neurological storage diseases, have been localized. A molecular phylogeny of the Felidae family has been derived based upon three methodologies, and a cytogenetic description of Felidae evolution was developed.
