An international team of researchers, led by a team at the
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have published the complete sequence of the dog genome. Their article in
Nature [
Lindblad-Toh K et al (2005) Nature 438, 803-819] provides details of the over 2 billion nucleotides that make up the genome of a female boxer named Tasha, whose DNA was sequenced. In addition, approximately 2.5 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified. In addition, approximately 2.5 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified. The
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) funded the research at a cost of $30 million. The boxer was chosen as a representative of the average purebred dog, according to a NHGRI
press release, to provide a reference sequence of the dog genome.
The dog genome was chosen as a sequencing project because it will aid researchers in understanding and treating human diseases. Dogs suffer from many genetic disorders in common with humans, such as heart disease, cancer, blindness, cataracts, epilepsy, hip dysplasia and deafness. According to Dr Francis Collins, Director of the NHGRI,
“When compared with the genomes of human and other important organisms, the dog genome provides a powerful tool for identifying genetic factors that contribute to human health and disease.” Comparing the dog genome to the human and other genomes,
“…will help researchers to narrow their search for many more of the genetic contributors underlying cancer and other major diseases,” said Dr Elaine Ostander, chief of the NHGRI’s Cancer Genetics Branch. The dog genome data can be found at the NIH's
National Center for Biotechnology Information Dog Genome Resources or at the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory's Nucleotide Sequence Database.