Canine Behavioral Genetics Project - Update - Page 1

Sound sensitivity being a primary selection test for working prospects, I thought I'd share some of the latest research.

...We are very excited to have presented preliminary results at the Fourth International Conference on Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics and Inherited Diseases, which was held in late May in St. Malo, France.

http://www.canine-felinegenomicsmeeting.com/

Using Affymetrix Canine v2.0 SNP array technology, we have identified potential candidate genes associated with noise phobia and hearing acuity in a sample of 183 dogs. This sample was made up primarily of Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, German Shepherd Dogs, and Portuguese Water Dogs. In addition, 23 dogs of other diverse breeds were included for a survey of canine diversity. We conducted a series of statistical analyses looking for associations between the genetic variation we found among the dogs in our sample (in a set of about 130,000 SNP markers per dog) and the behavioral phenotype information provided by owners who completed behavioral questionnaires reporting their dogs' reactions to noise and other stimuli. We are now conducting further studies to test our preliminary findings.

In addition, in a study of within-breed stratification (population structure), which is a necessary correlate of genetic case-control association studies, we discovered significant structure within at least one of our breeds of interest, the Border Collie. The results of three different types of analyses (phylogenetic, clustering, and principal components) suggest that there may be a split within the breed that is related to geographical isolation, selection for work vs. show, or both. We hope to collect further samples of Border Collies from more geographical regions and more "lines" (working, show, sport) to follow up on these preliminary results, and also to explore population structure in another breed that is thought to be "split," the Australian Shepherd.

More about these findings can be found here:

http://www.k9behavioralgenetics.com/NoisePhobia.php

Hi Daryl,

Did they use American showlines, German showlines, or German working lines?

They might get some stratification from having German show/working.

Just curious.

Michele and Pharaoh vom Banach

I'm sure the distinct lines of the program's participants would be very significant, but I do not know the answer to that.  This being an all-breed study, I wouldn't be very surprised if they were unaware of the distinct populations within the breed.

I would pose that question to the contact below...

Melanie Lee Chang, Ph.D. * MelanieC@lppi.ucsf.edu
Canine Behavioral Genetics Project
University of California, San Francisco
http://www.K9BehavioralGenetics.com/