% pubman genre = article @article{item_3331134, title = {{Genomic evidence for the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific (Felis silvestris bieti) and its introgression to domestic cats}}, author = {Yu, He and Xing, Yue-Ting and Meng, Hao and He, Bing and Li, Wen-Jing and Qi, Xin-Zhang and Zhao, Jian-You and Zhuang, Yan and Xu, Xiao and Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki and Driscoll, Carlos A. and O{\textquoteright}Brien, Stephen J. and Luo, Shu-Jin}, language = {eng}, doi = {10.1126/sciadv.abg0221}, publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science}, year = {2021}, abstract = {{The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endemic Chinese mountain cat has a controversial taxonomic status, whether it is a true species or a wildcat (Felis silvestris) subspecies and whether it has contributed to cat (F. s. catus) domestication in East Asia. Here, we sampled F. silvestris lineages across China and sequenced 51 nuclear genomes, 55 mitogenomes, and multilocus regions from 270 modern or museum specimens. Genome-wide analyses classified the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific F. s. bieti, which was not involved in cat domestication of China, thus supporting a single domestication origin arising from the African wildcat (F. s. lybica). A complex hybridization scenario including ancient introgression from the Asiatic wildcat (F. s. ornata) to F. s. bieti, and contemporary gene flow between F. s. bieti and sympatric domestic cats that are likely recent Plateau arrivals, raises the prospect of disrupted wildcat genetic integrity, an issue with profound conservation implications.}}, journal = {{Science Advances}}, volume = {7}, number = {26}, eid = {eabg0221}, }