Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in May published the results of their genetic analysis of 85 breeds of dog.
In a press release announcing the findings, Fred Hutchinson researcher Elaine Ostrander said,
There are more than 400 breeds of dog, and each is an isolated breeding population. What this means is that each dog breed is like a little Iceland — an isolated breeding population that allows us to simplify a complicated genetic problem.
Although there may be just as many genes for a given disease in dogs as there are in humans, being able to search for them in a single breed allows us to find the one or two genes responsible for that disease in that population much more easily.
Based on the genetic analysis, the researchers sorted the various breeds into four groups of similar genetic varieties that presumably share common ancestors. Since most of the breeds are only a few centuries old, the differences in size and appearance are likely due to a very small number of genes. Since some of these breeds are far more susceptible than others to certain types of diseases, such as cancer, it is possible that researchers will only have to examine a relatively small number of genes to find markers for that apparent genetic predisposition to specific diseases. As Ostrander put it,
This study helps us understand the genetic relationships between the breeds, a finding that will facilitate our efforts to map disease genes and genes for what are known as complex traits, which result from the interaction of multiple genes. This analysis provides us with the blueprint.
Source:
Many scientists belive the dog genome holds information that will benefit human health. Press Release, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, May 20, 2004.