Canine Genome Projects

Canine genome studies were begun to identify genes and markers that occur on the dog's chromosomes. They are also being used to identify inherited disorders, and how these disorders occur in various breeds. Because humans and dogs are evolutionarily similar, it is hoped the identifying genes that cause disease in dogs, will lead to identifying genes that cause the same disorder in humans.

Over 350 genetic diseases have been identified in the dog. Many of these are similar to diseases that occur in humans; some diseases that take decades to develop in humans may show up early in dogs, making it easier to work with that disease in multiple patients. Dogs are easy to raise and handle, making the study of inherited diseases in dogs useful to understanding similar diseases in humans.

Canine genome studies don't just help humans, however. Because the rate at which disease occur in dogs can vary, depending on how many animals were used to found the breed, or whether there were genetic bottlenecks occurring in the breed's history, study of the canine genome may help breeders understand how they may reduce incidence of inherited disorders in their breed.

There are currently two canine genome projects, one at National Institutes of Health, and one at the Broad Institute at MIT. Both are always looking for samples from dogs who have a specific disease, as well as healthy animals from various breeds that will help the projects continue to progress.

In addition to the Canine Genome Projects, there is also a new effort being made to fine-tune the canine genome. Called the Canine Phenome Project, it is a relatively new effort to collect blood samples from phenotypically well-defined animals, so that the differences within and between breeds of dog can be studied. Once the canine genome was mapped, it was recognized that only about 30,000 gene pairs exist in the dog. However, the ways in which these genes interact vary considerably, and there may be as many as 2 million or more possible interaction sites within the canine genome. This explains the high degree of variability in dogs, from the smallest Chihuahua, to the largest Great Dane.