Japan researchers set Guinness Record for cat genome

The researchers from Anicom Specialty Medical Institute Inc., the National Institute of Genetics and Kazusa DNA Research Institute decoded the genome of American Shorthair cats and published the results in an article last October.

The number of decoded genes was 21,272, which is 1,685 more than in the Abyssinian cats used so far.

Using this genetic information, Anicom Specialty Medical Institute, Osaka Metropolitan University and Tokiwa-Bio Inc. have produced high-quality induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells of cats, which are expected to be useful for clarifying genetic diseases, developing treatments for them and research on regenerative medicine.

Researchers, including Shingo Hatoya, a professor at Osaka Metropolitan University, also collected sperm and eggs from cat testes and ovaries removed for contraception, producing fertilized eggs in an experimental container to create embryonic stem cells.

ES cells will be used as a standard for evaluating the quality of iPS cells by introducing a group of genes into cells such as skin cells. In the future, they could be used for research to produce sperm and eggs and reproduce endangered felines.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Photo by Reuters