True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.

Direct-to-consumer canine genetic testing is becoming increasingly popular among dog owners. The data collected therein provides intriguing insight into the current status of morphological variation present within purebred populations. Mars WISDOM PANELTM data from 11,790 anonymized dogs, representi...

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Main Authors: Dayna L Dreger, Blair N Hooser, Angela M Hughes, Balasubramanian Ganesan, Jonas Donner, Heidi Anderson, Lauren Holtvoigt, Kari J Ekenstedt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223995
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author Dayna L Dreger
Blair N Hooser
Angela M Hughes
Balasubramanian Ganesan
Jonas Donner
Heidi Anderson
Lauren Holtvoigt
Kari J Ekenstedt
author_facet Dayna L Dreger
Blair N Hooser
Angela M Hughes
Balasubramanian Ganesan
Jonas Donner
Heidi Anderson
Lauren Holtvoigt
Kari J Ekenstedt
author_sort Dayna L Dreger
collection DOAJ
description Direct-to-consumer canine genetic testing is becoming increasingly popular among dog owners. The data collected therein provides intriguing insight into the current status of morphological variation present within purebred populations. Mars WISDOM PANELTM data from 11,790 anonymized dogs, representing 212 breeds and 4 wild canine species, were evaluated at genes associated with 7 coat color traits and 5 physical characteristics. Frequencies for all tested alleles at these 12 genes were determined by breed and by phylogenetic grouping. A sub-set of the data, consisting of 30 breeds, was divided into separate same-breed populations based on country of collection, body size, coat variation, or lineages selected for working or conformation traits. Significantly different (p ≤ 0.00167) allele frequencies were observed between populations for at least one of the tested genes in 26 of the 30 breeds. Next, standard breed descriptions from major American and international registries were used to determine colors and tail lengths (e.g. genetic bobtail) accepted within each breed. Alleles capable of producing traits incongruous with breed descriptions were observed in 143 breeds, such that random mating within breeds has probabilities of between 4.9e-7 and 0.25 of creating undesirable phenotypes. Finally, the presence of rare alleles within breeds, such as those for the recessive black coloration and natural bobtail, was combined with previously published identity-by-decent haplotype sharing levels to propose pathways by which the alleles may have spread throughout dog breeds. Taken together, this work demonstrates that: 1) the occurrence of low frequency alleles within breeds can reveal the influence of regional or functional selection practices; 2) it is possible to visualize the potential historic connections between breeds that share rare alleles; and 3) the necessity of addressing conflicting ideals in breed descriptions relative to actual genetic potential is crucial.
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spelling doaj.art-1ab266b0c88542638adaecb8221212d32022-12-21T22:36:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-011410e022399510.1371/journal.pone.0223995True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.Dayna L DregerBlair N HooserAngela M HughesBalasubramanian GanesanJonas DonnerHeidi AndersonLauren HoltvoigtKari J EkenstedtDirect-to-consumer canine genetic testing is becoming increasingly popular among dog owners. The data collected therein provides intriguing insight into the current status of morphological variation present within purebred populations. Mars WISDOM PANELTM data from 11,790 anonymized dogs, representing 212 breeds and 4 wild canine species, were evaluated at genes associated with 7 coat color traits and 5 physical characteristics. Frequencies for all tested alleles at these 12 genes were determined by breed and by phylogenetic grouping. A sub-set of the data, consisting of 30 breeds, was divided into separate same-breed populations based on country of collection, body size, coat variation, or lineages selected for working or conformation traits. Significantly different (p ≤ 0.00167) allele frequencies were observed between populations for at least one of the tested genes in 26 of the 30 breeds. Next, standard breed descriptions from major American and international registries were used to determine colors and tail lengths (e.g. genetic bobtail) accepted within each breed. Alleles capable of producing traits incongruous with breed descriptions were observed in 143 breeds, such that random mating within breeds has probabilities of between 4.9e-7 and 0.25 of creating undesirable phenotypes. Finally, the presence of rare alleles within breeds, such as those for the recessive black coloration and natural bobtail, was combined with previously published identity-by-decent haplotype sharing levels to propose pathways by which the alleles may have spread throughout dog breeds. Taken together, this work demonstrates that: 1) the occurrence of low frequency alleles within breeds can reveal the influence of regional or functional selection practices; 2) it is possible to visualize the potential historic connections between breeds that share rare alleles; and 3) the necessity of addressing conflicting ideals in breed descriptions relative to actual genetic potential is crucial.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223995
spellingShingle Dayna L Dreger
Blair N Hooser
Angela M Hughes
Balasubramanian Ganesan
Jonas Donner
Heidi Anderson
Lauren Holtvoigt
Kari J Ekenstedt
True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
PLoS ONE
title True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
title_full True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
title_fullStr True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
title_full_unstemmed True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
title_short True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential.
title_sort true colors commercially acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds informing both trait ancestry and breed potential
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223995
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