Cinnamon, the cat used for the sequencing. It lives in a feline colony at the University of Missouri-Columbia

Scientists have sequenced the DNA of a domestic cat.

The project is expected to lead to health benefits for cats and humans. Around 250 hereditary disorders occur naturally in domestic cats, many of which are similar to those in humans. For example, there are strong similarities between feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and HIV/AIDS in humans. Another common hereditary disease is retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that often leads to blindness. In a previous study, the researchers used a cat's DNA to identify the gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa.

A total of 20,285 putative genes were identified in the cat genome from the human, chimpanzee, rat, mouse, cow, and dog genomes.

Other features analyzed in the sequencing included nuclear fragments called "numts" that migrated from mitochondria to cat chromosomes, repetitive DNA-like elements with known links to cancer, and microRNAs.

The cat used for the sequencing was a four-year-old Abyssinian named Cinnamon, who lives in a feline colony at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The researchers were from the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland.

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