Why are Labrador Retrievers always hungry?
A group of researchers wanted to get a deeper understanding of canine obesity. One breed that always seems to be overweight is the Labrador Retriever. Many owners of this breed say that it does not seem like their dogs ever get full. After conducting a study, it was found that in some Labrador Retrievers and other flat coat breeds similar, there is a gene variation called POMC. One of the responsibilities of this gene is to act as that "off" button and to not eat anymore. All of the dogs that were used in this experiment did not have the POMC deletion. However, a majority of the labs that were tested did have this mutation. Researchers also noticed that POMC deletion was associated with a 2 kg weight increase. A dog with this mutation would have a harder time of staying slim. They are using this information about canine obesity as a transition into human health.
This was so interesting! Knowing several people who struggle to maintain a healthy weight for their dog, it is interesting to see that this is actually a genetic issue. The fact that this gene restricts eating but these dogs have a mutation shows that the issue is not the owner overfeeding or otherwise, but rather a genetic mutation that causes them to eat continuously. Fascinating that you also related it to human health, as it could be a probable reason for obesity in humans as well.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about this being a cause to a dogs obesity or reason to why they could be overweight. Usually I would think to blame to owner of over feeding or from to many table scraps. Its crazy to think that a gene could be the cause to this dogs obesity. I love that it is being related to human health and could help out both populations.
ReplyDeleteI never thought that a signal gene would be responsible for the off switch for hunger. I just assumed it was multiple genes. Nevertheless, I wonder what the genetic advantage if any there would be to not having a POMC gene. A possible theory that I thought of was what if this allows that bread to continually search for food increasing their territory and giving them a great variety of food sources.
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