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Leslie A. Lyons

Leslie A. Lyons is an associate professor at University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

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In 2002 Dr. Lyons made international headlines by analyzing the DNA of the world's first cloned cat, a kitten named Cc:, and confirming that it was indeed a true clone, a genetic copy of its mother.

Dr. Lyons has helped develop DNA tests for polycystic kidney disease (PKD), an inherited condition that shortens the life of cats by causing them to suffer kidney cysts. Previous tests for this condition involved ultrasound and were not very accurate, unlike the DNA test devised by Dr. Lyons. Approximately one third of all Persian cats carried the PKD gene at one time, but because of ultrasound testing and the newer, more accurate DNA tests, these PKD-carrier cats are gradually being identified and removed from the feline gene pool by spaying and neutering.

A DNA test for feline coat color carriers and feline parentage has also been developed by Dr. Lyons, and is being offered to cat breeders, like the PKD test, so that they can determine whether cats they have bred have correct pedigrees, and whether these cats carry colorpoints or rare coat colors, such as sepia, mink, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn.

One of Dr. Lyons' current projects is identification of the genes that cause head defect, a lethal deformity in Burmese cats. She is also working on identifying genes that cause that cause Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), which causes affected kittens to become blind at the age of approximately two months.

Although much of Dr. Lyons' research has dealt with cats, she also works on resources for gene mapping of other companion animals, such as dogs and horses. She has a partial appointment with the California National Primate Research Center and is developing new genetic research for the rhesus macaque.