Most Dog Breeds Are Highly Inbred -- and Unhealthy

 

Within this article traits that are specific to certain dog breeds have been found to be most commonly achieved through inbreeding which significantly increases the amount of health risks for these dogs. An average rate of inbreeding was found to be 25% which is about as equal to how much DNA siblings share, this a a very concerning level to share for any animal or even human in general. In any species strong breed predispositions to health effects such as autoimmune diseases highlight how important it is that inbreeding dogs puts the dogs health at huge risks. Since there is so much inbreeding in the dog world there is a lack of genetic diversity within dogs and there should be more of a focus to preserving the genetic diversity among dogs. There should be a focus and careful management  to not lose the already existing genetic diversity through things such as breeding education and having inbreeding levels monitored.  

Goldendoodles: Glorified Mutts?

    Doodle varieties have become the newest craze in the dog breeding world. Goldendoodles, bernadoodles, labradoodles, and so many more are being sold for thousands of dollars as purebred dogs. But are doodles really purebred, or are they just glorified mutts? According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), Goldendoodles are not AKC, and cannot be registered. This is because there is no breed standard for Goldendoodles or any of the doodle varieties, because there is so much variation with breeding. The main reason why Goldendoodles have become so popular is because they have to potential to be hypoallergenic like poodles, while also still possessing the fun personality of a golden retriever. The word "potential" is very important here, though. Because of the amount of variation in breeding, as seen from the diagram above, some Goldendoodles will have more or less poodle or golden retriever in them. This means that some Goldendoodles will still shed, some will have longer wiry hair, and some will have tight curly hair. There are also variations in size, coat color, and behavior. 

old dogs and aging

 

Dogs go through stages of life just as humans do. In this article, Scientists have come across similarities between the two species. They are useful in studying human aging because dogs are similar to humans in many important ways, such as how they act at a young and old age, and what happens within their DNA as they get older. A study in Vienna was done with border collies and they show the dogs took part in a touchscreen experiment at the University of Veterinary Medicine, which found that older dogs benefit from mind games and other brain exercises. Lab tests can tell how old a human is by the pattern of methylation, the same for dogs. The dog aging project is collecting genetic and other information from a vast number of pet dogs. They suffer a lot of similar ailments such as obesity, arthritis, hypothyroidism, and diabetes. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/science/dogs-aging-behavior.html?searchResultPosition=1

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-researchers-reframe-dog-human-aging-comparisons

Diet affects gene expressions in dogs

 

This article, based on a study from the University of Helinski, discovered that certain skin gene expressions were based on diet in dogs. The study had been conducted on a group of 4 dogs that were normal and 4 dogs that were prone or had atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is a skin disease where an allergic reaction occurs when an animal inhales airborne substances or ingest a substance which they are sensitive. The reaction can cause the animal to either scratch, rub, lick, or etc.. and cause an inflammation or sore presence in the affected areas. The research had shown that the immune defense of dogs whose diet is based on raw food is activated, and reduced the risk of becoming atopic. The expression of these genes also boosted the formation of new blood vessels. From the test group, 8 dogs were RNA sequenced to determine the affects and overall gene expression in determining that there are  deficiencies in the lipid metabolism and keratinocyte proliferation of atopic dogs. The interesting part with regards to the entire study is when in perspective to humans, specifically humans who suffer from atopic dermatitis (such as myself). While there are various treatments, it takes back into perspective with regards to the study is if there is a gene expression in humans based on diet with regards to gene expression. While there are many side affects of the current diets humans do consume on a daily basis, the question arises whether or not there is something in the entirety of the diet with regards to those who suffer from atopic dermatitis that is suppressing gene expression?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201113103723.htm

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.552251/full

Labradores are Dying and It's Because Of Us

 

    Chocolate labs are more desirable than their black and yellow counterparts. The brown color is caused by the homozygous recessive genotype. This genotype is associated with shorter life spans and predisposition for health issues. Studies done have found that chocolate labs live on average a whole year less than their brown and black siblings. They also have increase of ear and skin infections on top of the typical join issues that labs typically have. Because these dogs are highly sought after, these genes are making the Labradors an unhealthy breed of dog. An article on AllThingsDog.com stated that because these dogs are continuously interbred for their color, they are showing increased risk of genetic health issues due to their limited gene pool. I think that breeding dogs for looks does dogs in general a disservice. Breeding health issues into them is cruel, especially because most dogs are not bred for a specific purpose. Most are just family dogs. I think that people should adopt dogs rather than shop to stop funding breeding like this.

https://www.allthingsdogs.com/chocolate-lab/#:~:text=Most%20purebred%20dogs%20have%20a%20risk%20of%20inheriting,such%20as%20osteoarthritis%20which%20has%20no%20known%20cure

https://listverse.com/2018/11/09/top-10-genetic-discoveries-seen-for-the-first-time/

Who's a good... Wolf?

The loyal dog's we know today, are relatives to the wolf. They are our trusty companions but why? Where did the floppy eared, big eyed, goof we know today come from (yes there are dogs that are bread to have ears sticking up as well)? Evidence points to dogs being our longest and oldest companions being domesticated not only from a single area but from multiple points all around the world.

Many have hypothesized how wolfs ended up becoming domesticated. Some believe that we actively tried to domesticate them to be used for hunting, helping our ancestors and acted on their own accord. Others believe that the wolf  (some) began to follow our trail of scraps left behind in search of food themselves and that they had a trait in their genome that was more tame that would allow for us to allow for them to approach us.

From studies done we know that the Eurasian grey wolves around 10,000 to 40,000 years ago were domesticated. Dogs that we know of today like the Doberman, Maltese, Pitbull, Pomeranian, and ect. were not what the early traits were sought out for physical aesthetics but rather only that they do not hurt us and are friendly. It should be known that the traits for behavior and physical attributes are linked in a way. They are the NCC or neural crest cells, and biologist have focus in on these as they believe this is what was the catalyst for the domestication syndrome.

"NCCs are stem cells found in every embryo that show up first at the crest, or top edge, of the neural tube, which will eventually become the brain and spinal cord. As the embryo develops, a number of different genes signal NCCs to activate and move, along specific paths, to different areas of the body to perform different tasks. the range of activities that NCCs do it enormous: the adrenal and pituitary systems, which are involved in aggression, fear and other behaviors, are derived from NCCs, but these cells are also involved in regulating physical traits such as pigmentation of skin and hair."(1)

The group of scientists involved in this study decided to look into 429 different genes in forty three wild village dogs from four different continents. Focusing on genes that act in early embryogenesis. They then compared these village dogs to "ancient dogs older than 5,000 years" (1). What they found was a similarity in their genome sugesting that these traits were the result of original domestication. This shows that the later attempts of domestication to different specific breads was not the cause for the tame like trait we see in dogs. 

"Selecting for behavioral traits such as reduced fear of humans, a key element of tameness, favored certain genetic signatures. In turn, those genetic signatures changed how the NCCs they activated actually migrated around the body and performed."(1)

Even with this new information we do not know how domestication took place but we do have more insight into it. We may never know why or how specifically this domestication of our fury friends happened, but what we do know is that they were part of our journey so far and are not going anywhere in the near future. The dogs we know of today will continue to change in features as we deem to be necessary/aesthetically pleasing.

P.s DO NOT try to domesticate wild wolves.

references:
1- http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2018/06/27/dog-genes/#.W2ELUtJKhPY
2- https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-018-0535-2

Dog DNA study maps breeds across the world

Scientists have analyzed 161 breeds of dog's DNA. Over the past 20 years, dogs have been bred to do different things, depending on what they are needed for. Dogs used to be used for hunting and gathering, now there are many hybrid breeds that are available. Dogs origins can be traced to two basic places in the world the United Kingdom or the Mediterranean. Many dogs like the mastiff has not changed genetically over the years. This article was very interesting to read. Dogs are very important in the world and majority of people have them. Now with all these different dog breeds breeding together, this genetic mapping of them will allow us to better understand what dogs are good for what area.

Related Article: http://genome.cshlp.org/content/19/3/500.short

Article: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/dog-dna-study-maps-breeds-across-world

Dog genes give insight into human brain tumors

This article is about how there might be a way to figure out more about a Glioma (brain tumor) by looking at breeds of dogs that can also be affected by the same tumors. Through the research time and energy, a possible common link between humans, dogs, and Gliomas are three genes. These three specific genes are CAMKK2, P2RX7, and DENR. With each of these having a different purpose including growth and arrangement of neurons, cell death and inflammation, and being associated with several other cancers. I believe this is a step in the right direction and it's clear that this is not going to be the end of the research.

medicalnewstoday.com/articles

Glioma

Bad News, Bulldogs

According to this article on Science Alert, the increasingly popular English bulldog is approaching a crucial tipping point due to their genetic similarity. In a study of 102 bulldogs, a group of researchers from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine found that the genetic diversity of these bulldogs was so low that breeders are likely incapable of selectively breeding them with healthier phenotypes. Crossbreeding is the most viable option for selecting healthy phenotypes without risking the animals' health, however this may result in a breed that will not fit the English bulldog specifications. This means that the English bulldog as we know it will likely not be around for long since they will express traits of the breed of dog they would be crossed with.
As an aspiring veterinarian and all-around animal enthusiast, this is a topic that I have a considerable amount of experience with, namely family and friends who either own or have owned purebred English bulldogs. I also owned a bulldog mix, of which he had noticeably less medical issues due to his breed than the purebred individuals. It is well known that purebred breeds have significantly more medical issues than mixed breeds and the English bulldog is infamous for having an extensive list of such issues. I strongly believe that English bulldogs should be crossbred with a different breed in order to increase their genetic variability and significantly reduce the number of unhealthy, purebred individuals by educating the public on the suffering that purebred English bulldogs endure simply by existing.

Build a Bigger, Better Beagle

In China, researchers are using CRISPR/Cas9 to editing the genes of beagles to create dogs that have more muscle mass.  The altered gene, Myostatin, gives bully whippets and Belgian Blue cattle their bulky muscle without any known cause of health problems.  Liangxue Lai of the South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Guangzhou, China injected the gene editor into 35 beagles’ embryos.  27 puppies were born of which only 2, a male Hercules and a female Tiangou, had the edited genes. The female has both copies of the myostatin gene mutated in all of her cells developed bigger thigh muscles by at 4 months but Hercules didn’t have the double mutation in all of his cells and didn’t develop as much by 4 months.  He did pack on more muscle as they matured.  Even thou only a low number of the puppies were born with the mutations Lai believe the editor is not very efficient in dogs but the process just needs to be optimized.  Next Lai and colleagues hopes to make mutations that mimic genetic changes like Parkinson’s disease and hearing loss in human. They also don’t plan on making designer pets for sale using this technique; it’s for biomedical research only since beagles are very close to human in terms of metabolic, physiological and anatomical characteristics.

I think it’s amazing that China and the US use dogs for research needs; I have heard about rats and other animals but not beagles.  Instead of making designer pets my first concern is that this process will eventually be used to give humans bigger and more efficient muscles.  I can imagine the next generations of athletes trying to be larger by having their genes edited with bull genes. The research need is perfect but we do not need to make altered humans to be us stronger or to gain animalistic abilities.

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A Single DNA is not enough information for a healthy pedigree

            According to a recent article a single DNA test is not plenty information to obtain a healthy pedigree for a dog. The scientist in the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute had taken different approaches to further investigate how to potentially decrease the health issues of pedigrees in animals. Because only relaying in a DNA test can involve risk, is best if the DNA test is not done alone but also with pedigree information from their family and health screening schemes. To have the health screenings before breeding the dogs is known to have reduced the likelihood for some diseases to take place. Also a different method is to cross-breed this will result in a bigger genetic diversity. The article talks about how the breeding between an offspring from a cross breeding and a pure breed pedigree, will result in an offspring that shares a 99.9 percent of their genetic material with the original pedigree but also the offspring will absence the gene that produces the diseases. In conclusion for a better understanding on how to potentially decrease the health risk in the dog pedigree is best to run further test, to prevent future risk in the offspring pedigree.

The Lost Identity of Man's Best Friend

We believe that the origin of Earth was caused by the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, but what can we say about the origin of dogs?

Comparing the two, the origin of dogs may seem minuscule and unimportant but just how much do we know about our best friend? Some people agreed on the fact dogs came from wolves, aside that we only know dogs appeared around 15,000 to 100,000 years ago somewhere in Asia or Africa.

According to Dr. Greger Larson at University of Durham, England, it is currently improbable to trace when and where dogs originated from the DNA of modern dogs. Larson and twenty other authors have been working on a paper about the origins of dog domestication. Currently the team has analyzed 49,024 locations on dog DNA; working with 1,375 DNA samples from 121 breed, and 19 wolves.So far they have only been successful tracing back to about a hundred years.

Larson and his colleagues concluded on how modern dog breeding is making it more difficult to locate when or where dogs were first domesticated. In fact, dog breeding had been so mixed, that the genetic history for dogs became very obscured; with the exception of basenji, shar-pei, Saluki, Akita, Finnish spitz, and Eurasier bring slightly less mixed.

What Larson and his team found out was that, dogs that are most genetically distinct were not from the places where the oldest dog fossil was found. Larson expected if these breeds were closer genetically to the first domesticated dogs, they would be geographically closer to sites of early dog fossils or ancient dog breeds. However, their studies shows the more genetically distinct dogs had been geographically isolated quite recent in the history of domestication. For instance, dingoes, basenjis, and New Guinea singing dogs came from southeast Asia and southern Africa about 3,500 and 1,400 years ago.

Larson concluded that there is still hope to learn about the origin of dogs. People have burying their dogs for a long amount of history, thus somewhere, there really is a fossil of an ancient dog--we just have to find it.

I think dog breeding is one of the things we, as humans take for granted. We decide on the breed that we want for our own purposes, not knowing the consequences of our selfishness. In order to create a companion to cuddle and be dog show material--we have made our best friend lost his identity. Everyone kept saying how much they love their dogs, but just how much do we know about their history?

Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/science/dogs-genetic-roots-remain-obscure.html?_r=0

Related article: http://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200498354/barking-up-the-family-tree-american-dogs-have-surprising-genetic-roots

Call That a Ball? Dogs Learn to Associate Words With Objects Differently Than Humans Do

According to Science Daily, dogs learn to associate words with objects differently than humans do. Humans between the ages of two and three, begin to associate words with shape. If you teach a toddler the word ball, they will associate other round objects as a ball. While dogs on the other hand associate words with the size and texture of an object. For example, most dogs refer to all of their toys as the same thing. They are all around the same size and most are made out of the same textures or groups of textures. They explain that earlier research has shown that dogs learn by category.

This study was focused on Gable, a five year old border collie. After a short period of training, Gable learned to associate the name of an object with its size, identifying other objects of similar size by the same name. After a longer period of exposure to both a name and an object, the dog learned to associate a word to other objects of similar textures, but not to objects of similar shape. This study shows for the first time that there is a qualitative difference in word comprehension in the dog compared to word comprehension in humans.

This article really interested me because it's amazing how dog's react to different things, and it was interesting to read about how they actually click the words they hear to what they actually think about.