As people peer into DNA for clues to health and heritage, manB次元官网网址檚 best friend is under the microscope, too.
Genetic testing for dogs has surged in recent years, fueled by companies that echo popular at-home tests for humans, offering a deep dive into a petB次元官网网址檚 genes with the swab of a canine cheek. More than a million dogs have been tested in little over a decade.
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The testsB次元官网网址� rise has stirred debate about standards, interpretation and limitations. But to many dog owners, DNA is a way to get to know their companions better.
B次元官网网址淚t put some pieces of the puzzle together,B次元官网网址� says Lisa Topol, who recently tested her mixed-breed dogs Plop and Schmutzy. Plop was the top-scoring mixed-breed, and Schmutzy also competed, in SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 agility contest at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show . Judging toward the coveted best in show prize began Monday.
A test by Embark B次元官网网址� which this fall became WestminsterB次元官网网址檚 first DNA-testing partner B次元官网网址� confirmed TopolB次元官网网址檚 guess that her high-octane pets are more Australian cattle dog than anything else. But SchmutzyB次元官网网址檚 genetic pie chart had surprise ingredients, including generous amounts of Labrador retriever and Doberman pinscher.
Huh? Topol thought at first. And then: Maybe SchmutzyB次元官网网址檚 love of water and fetching is her inner Lab coming out. And doesnB次元官网网址檛 she walk a bit like a Doberman?
B次元官网网址淭hey are the dogs that they are B次元官网网址� TheyB次元官网网址檙e unique, and theyB次元官网网址檙e special,B次元官网网址� said Topol, a New York advertising executive. But the testing B次元官网网址渕akes me understand them better.B次元官网网址�
Canine DNA testing for certain conditions and purposes goes back over two decades, but the industry took off after scientists mapped a full set of dog genes and published the results in 2005.
Wisdom Health, part of pet care and candy giant Mars Inc., launched a breed-identification test in 2007, added a health-screening option a few years later and says it has now tested over 1.1 million dogs worldwide. Numerous other brands are also available.
Mass-market tests have fueled research and helped animal shelters attract adopters by providing more information about prospective pets. DNA can back up purebred dogsB次元官网网址� parentage and help breeders try to eliminate certain diseases.
The technology has been used to identify dogs whose owners donB次元官网网址檛 pick up their droppings, to pursue accused biters and to free a Belgian Malinois from dog death row after he was accused of killing a Pomeranian in Michigan. And some veterinarians feel DNA testing enhances care.
But qualms about the dog DNA boom spilled into the prestigious science journal Nature last year.
B次元官网网址淧et genetics must be reined in,B次元官网网址� a Boston veterinarian and two other scientists wrote. Their commentary opened with a troubling story: a pug being euthanized because her owners interpreted DNA results to mean she had a rare, degenerative neurological disorder, when in fact her ailment might have been something more treatable.
B次元官网网址淭hese (tests) should be used in a limited way until we get a lot more information,B次元官网网址� says co-author and vet Dr. Lisa Moses.
One concern is that tests can show genetic mutations that are linked to disease in some breeds but have unknown effects in the breed being tested. It also may be unclear how often dogs with the mutation ultimately get sick.
That means tests, in themselves, canB次元官网网址檛 necessarily tell pet owners how much they should worry. Or tell breeders whether a dog shouldnB次元官网网址檛 reproduce. Some in dogdom fear that DNA test results could keep animals from passing on otherwise good genes because of an ambiguous possibility of disease.
B次元官网网址淭he risk for overinterpretation is great,B次元官网网址� but DNA testing can be useful along with other tools, says veterinarian Dr. Diane Brown, the CEO of the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. It has invested almost $20 million in genomic and molecular research and supports an international effort to promote standardization for dog DNA tests.
Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
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