Data from: The population origins and expansion of feral cats in Australia

The historical literature suggests that in Australia, the domestic cat (Felis catus) had a European origin [~200 years before present (ybp)], but it is unclear if cats arrived from across the Asian land bridge contemporaneously with the dingo (4000 ybp), or perhaps immigrated ~40000 ybp in association with Aboriginal settlement from Asia. The origin of cats in Australia is important because the continent has a complex and ancient faunal assemblage that is dominated by endemic rodents and marsupials and lacks the large placental carnivores found on other large continents. Cats are now ubiquitous across the entire Australian continent and have been implicit in the range contraction or extinction of its small to medium sized (<3.5kg) mammals. We analyzed the population structure of 830 cats using 15 short tandem repeat (STR) genomic markers. Their origin appears to come exclusively from European founders. Feral cats in continental Australia exhibit high genetic diversity in comparison with the low diversity found in populations of feral cats living on islands. The genetic structure is consistent with a rapid westerly expansion from eastern Australia and a limited expansion in coastal Western Australia. Australian cats show modest if any population structure and a close genetic alignment with European feral cats as compared to cats from Asia, the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Indian Ocean), and European wildcats (F. silvestris silvestris).

历史文献表明，澳大利亚的家猫（Felis catus）起源于欧洲[距今约200年（ybp，即years before present）]，但目前尚不清楚家猫是否与澳洲野犬（4000 ybp）同期通过亚洲陆桥传入，亦或是约40000年前随亚洲原住民定居者一同迁入澳大利亚。研究澳大利亚家猫的起源具有重要意义：该大陆拥有复杂且古老的动物区系，以特有啮齿类和有袋类为主，缺失其他大型大陆普遍存在的大型胎盘类食肉动物。如今家猫已遍布澳大利亚全境，被认为是导致该国中小型（<3.5千克）哺乳动物分布收缩或灭绝的关键因素之一。本研究利用15个短串联重复序列（short tandem repeat, STR）基因组标记，对830只家猫的种群结构进行了分析。结果显示，澳大利亚家猫的起源仅来自欧洲奠基种群。与岛屿野化家猫种群的低遗传多样性相比，澳大利亚大陆的野化家猫展现出较高的遗传多样性。其种群遗传结构与从澳大利亚东部向西的快速扩散模式，以及西澳大利亚沿海地区的有限扩散模式相符。与亚洲、圣诞岛和科科斯（基林）群岛（印度洋）的家猫以及欧洲野猫（F. silvestris silvestris）相比，澳大利亚家猫仅表现出微弱的种群结构（即便存在），且与欧洲野化家猫的遗传亲缘关系更为紧密。