Lyons Feline Genetics Lab

10/29/2024

In honor of National Cat Day, learn how Mizzou’s Leslie Lyons and Gretchen Carlisle help our feline friends.

10/20/2024

Beautiful day in the Burgh!

05/07/2024

So jazzed for Nikki Peduzzi wedding - my best friend Lisa McClay's daughter! First time making peanut butter blossoms!

12/08/2023

Howdy ho everyone! The Genetic Test for Silver coloration in cats in now available on the laboratory website! Now we can unlock the secrets of Blofeld's cat too (big James Bond fan here - image from From Russia with Love)!
https://cvm.missouri.edu/research/feline-genetics-and-comparative-medicine-laboratory/silver-inhibitor-genetic-testing-in-domestic-cat-breeds/

09/17/2023

The Cat's Meow! How cats evolved from the savanna to your sofa - Jonathon B. Losos

12/06/2022

A new publication is on the way.

A study of cat DNA by CVM researcher and Gilbreath-McLorn Endowed Professor of Comparative Medicine Leslie Lyons reveals how agriculture bonded cats with people in ancient Mesopotamia.
https://cvm.missouri.edu/feline-genetics-help-pinpoint-first-ever-domestication-of-cats-mu-study-finds/

10/31/2022

Here is a recent interview with Dr. Leslie Lyons. Happy Halloween to all!

October 27th is National Black Cat Day and October is Black Cat Awareness Month, providing positive publicity to promote black cat adoptions.

08/08/2022

Wishing you and your feline companions a wonderful International Cat Day!

11/29/2020

New paper published on the differences between USA and Japanese cat breeds in collaboration with Dr. Matsumoto! Some breeds are similar - some are a bit different!
https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0888-7543(20)32016-4

11/25/2020

Ticked and Tabby

Good news - the DNA variants for the mutations that cause the Ticked pattern in cats - typical of Abyssinian, Somali and Singapura - have been identified. Two different mutations in one gene are implicated. Now cat breeders can request genetic testing to determine if their cats have one or two copies of the mutations. These mutations are dominant and act to suppress the markings a cat will have (spotted, mackerel, blotched) - which are partially controlled by the Tabby locus.

Don't forget to support our research via the 99 Lives Project at the MU Give Direct website (https://mizzougivedirect.missouri.edu/Division.aspx?division=C029) or from the laboratory website: http://felinegenetics.missouri.edu/

01/30/2020

https://scienmag.com/gene-hunting-the-power-of-precision-medicine/

MU researchers improve animal welfare by discovering genetic mutations that cause diseaseCredit: MU News Bureau COLUMBIA, Mo. - Humans and animals are made up of trillions of cells, and each cell contains DNA specific to that individual. Therefore, i

03/16/2019

I think we should do some whole genome sequencing of some Flerkens! How do we find them? The DNA will tell all! A must see for cat lovers - Captn. Marvel!

03/14/2019

Hey Cat Lovers! Help us help cats! It is Mizzou Giving Day! You can donate directly to our lab to help us complete our cat genetic projects! felinegenetics.missouri.edu/99lives
Watch our video! https://vimeo.com/323523193

03/14/2019

Help us Help Cats! It is Mizzou Giving Day! 99 Lives Cat Genome Project has been very successful - help us keep going and finish the projects! See our webpage for project information and our goals. felinegenetics.missouri.edu/99lives
https://vimeo.com/323523193

03/07/2019

Great trip to LSU for new collaborations! Got to see Mike!

02/27/2019

Success for 99 Lives Project! Lil Bub paves the way - which celebrity cat will have its genome sequenced next?

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/celebrity-cat-has-broken-internet-now-we-have-its-genome

Scientists now know more about what makes Lil Bub such a unique feline

11/30/2018

Soyanara but not goodbye! After a fabulously productive year, Dr. Yoshihiko Yu heads back to Japan to defend his PhD. We extend our lab to the Far east!

11/26/2018

Had a new paper published on behavior of cats - working towards promoting more cats to support autistic children.
" Positive child-cat relationships were more typical with two or more adults and multiple cats in the home. Old cats were the least satisfactory. A breeder or shelter was a better source than as a feral, from a newspaper ad, or another source. A noteworthy finding was that all family participants, humans, and pets alike, affect the cat-child relationship, and these results reveal that many variables can play a role in achieving a desirable relationship for a cat and child." See the Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine link for the article: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00278/full

Although studies involving pet dogs and cats, and human adults and children, have been reported, the specific interactions between cats and children have not. This study sought information from parents about the cat’s role in families that have at least one child 3-12 years of age and at least one...