In September the Center for Advancement of Genomics and the Institute for Genomic Research announced they had completed a rough draft of the dog genome.
Both organizations are funded by genome researcher Craig Venter and used a partial shotgun sequencing process that, while not producing a complete sequence of the dog genome, provided a number of useful insights into the genetic makeup of man’s best friend.
The data was used to establish, for example, that up to 75 percent of known human genes have an analogue in the dog genome. The data also suggested that the dog genome was the first to diverge from the common ancestor of humans, mice and dogs, even though the dog genome is still much closer to the human genome than is the mouse genome (this odd combination of facts is due to the much faster mutation rate in mice as compared to human beings and dogs).
A more thorough sequencing of the dog genome is currently being led by the US National Human Genome Research Institute, but the Institute for Genomic Research argues there is a place for its fast, cheap shotgun approach to sequencing genomes. In a press release announcing the research, Venter said,
In little more than a decade genomics has advanced greatly and we now have approximately 150 completed genomes, including the human, mouse and fruit fly, in the public domain. With each sequenced genome the level of information gleaned through comparative genomics is invaluable to our understanding of human biology, evolution, and basic science research. Our new method is an efficient and effective way of sequencing that will allow more organisms to be analyzed while still providing significant information.
Dogs are susceptible to more known genetic diseases than any animal other than human beings, and many human diseases have canine counterparts. Information gleaned from the sequenced dog genome could help researchers better understand and treat human disease.
For example, in 2001, researcher Gregory Acland and others successfully created a genetic treatment for a retinal degenerative disease in dogs that is very similar to a retinal degenerative disease in human beings.
Sources:
Dog genome unveiled. John Whitfield, Nature, September 22, 2003.
Dog Genome Published by Researchers at TIGR, TCAG. Press Release, Institute for Genomic Research, September 25, 2003.
‘Walkies’ through dog genome. Jonathan Amos, September 25, 2003.
Gene therapy that restores vision for dogs holds hope for humans. Roger Segelken, Cornell Chronicle, May 3, 2001