The 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Initiative successfully developed a genetics research community-based consortium for the discovery of genetic variants causing health problems in felids. Precision Medicine approaches using whole genome sequencing are now viable options for feline health care and management. Following GATK Best Practices, a cat genome can be aligned and DNA variants identified within 10 – 20 hours, after sequencing is completed. The newly available long-read genome assembly of the cat (Version 9.0) is now annotated. Nearly 200 domestic cat whole genome sequences are in the 99 Lives project from over 30 worldwide collaborators. MU, Cornell and UC Davis have been significant contributors. The 99 Lives project cats have a variety of maladies and represent both breed and random bred cats. The objective is construction and implementation of a computational workflow for processing sequencing data to assist identification of disease causing variants. The genome sequences of the cats in the 99 Lives project need to be compared to the new long-read cat genome assembly to identify DNA variants. The DNA variants need to be annotated with information from NCBI and Ensembl. The annotated variants need to be prioritized as to their likelihood to cause the diseases and traits. This project will support all members of the 99 Lives project community and their efforts to discover disease and trait mutations. The identified variants can then be used to construct a high-density cat array. In addition, several cat diseases and traits will be investigated to determine causal DNA variants.
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