According to new research that has mapped out the genomes of several big cat species, 96 percent of domesticated house cat DNA is the same as a tiger’s.

According to new research that has mapped out the genomes of several big cat species, 96 percent of domesticated house cat DNA is the same as a tiger’s.
Researchers from the Personal Genomics Institute, as part of the Genome Research Foundation in Suwon, South Korea working with other international research teams, have mapped the genome of two different lion’s, a snow leopard as well as a Siberian and a Bengal tiger.

After sequencing the genomes for all of these animals, scientists compared the data to see the genetic similarities that they share.

This research might help with the captive breeding of some endangered species by broadening their genetic diversity.

Before this study, scientists had only mapped out the domesticated house cat genome.

Carlos Driscoll, the chairman of conservation genetics from the Wildlife Institute of India, said the study “brings the age of genomics to the conservation of these species, which are an umbrella for the conservation of many other animals and habitats. This sets a new standard for the conservation community to follow.”

Researchers from ten other countries contributed to the project that also showed how big cats evolved to have their predatory characteristics.