Overview
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL), in collaboration with Dr. Niels C. Pedersen and staff, has developed a panel of short tandem repeat (STR) markers that will determine genetic diversity across most of the genome and in the Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) class I and II regions. This test panel will be useful to breeders who wish to track and increase genetic diversity of their breed as a long-term goal.
Genetic diversity testing of Swedish Vallhunds is now in the final phase with 105 dogs having been tested at the time of the report below. We feel that more than 95% of the existing genetic diversity will be represented in the present database, but we will continue to update the database as new dogs are tested. The goal is to test enough dogs so that no new alleles or DLA haplotypes are recognized, although it is likely that any additional autosomal alleles or DLA haplotypes will be at very low incidence.
Price
$85 one test per animal
$70 when combined with a diagnostic test
Results reported as:
Short tandem repeat (STR) loci: A total of 33 STR loci from across the genome were used to gauge genetic diversity within an individual and across the breed. The alleles inherited from each parent are displayed graphically to highlight heterozygosity, and breed-wide allele frequency is provided.
DLA haplotypes: STR loci linked to the DLA class I and II genes were used to identify genetic differences in regions regulating immune responses and self/non-self-recognition. Problems with self/non-self-recognition, along with non-genetic factors in the environment, are responsible for autoimmune disease, allergies, and immunodeficiency.
Internal Relatedness: The IR value is a measure of genetic diversity within an individual that takes into consideration both heterozygosity of alleles at each STR loci and their relative frequency in the population. It is also an estimate of the genetic relatedness of a dog’s parents. Unlike standard genetic assessments, IR puts more emphasis on heterozygosity over homozygosity and uncommon over common alleles. IR values are unique to each dog and cannot be compared between dogs. Two dogs may have identical IR values but with very different genetic makeups.
Daily updated statistics are here.