Posted on 12/08/2005 11:08:33 PM PST by neverdem
Researchers have now decoded the dog genome to a high degree of accuracy, allowing deep insights into the evolutionary history not only of Canis familiaris but also of its devoted companion species, Homo sapiens.
The dog whose genome has been sequenced is Tasha, a female boxer, said Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, a biologist at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., who led a large group of colleagues in the DNA sequencing effort. Their findings are reported in today's issue of the journal Nature.
The world's dog population numbers some 400 million, divided into some 350 breeds. The researchers chose to sequence Tasha's genome because boxers are quite inbred, easing the decoding task. Also, because of her sex they did not have to bother with a Y chromosome, which is particularly hard to decode.
The dog genome is a wonderful playground for geneticists. Since dogs were domesticated from wolves some 15,000 years ago, they have been developed into breeds that carry special genes for shape, size, coat color and a variety of behavior.
The analysis of Tasha's and nine other breeds' genomes suggests that these genes should be especially easy to locate. Presumably because most dog breeds were created in the last few centuries, their genomes have not yet been much affected by the shuffling of genes that takes place each generation. So most genes lie in long blocks of DNA that have existed since the founding of the breed and before. The longer the block, the less effort needs to be put into locating the block holding a gene of interest.
In many cases the breeders who chose particular traits also inadvertently amplified nearby genes that cause disease. So some breeds of dog suffer from quite specific diseases, like the Doberman pinschers that have narcolepsy or the boxers afflicted with hip dysplasia...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sheesh, post a warning next time before you spring that on me at 2 AM!!
Great minds BUMP!
Slow day for the New York Slimes????
No. For a newspaper, the Times has much better than average science reporting, especially when the story has graphics.
I ain't related to any poodle!!! (German Shepherd - maybe.)
I realize that, but they'd rather slam Bush or one of his cabinet, most days!
I suddenly have this strange urge to drag myself across the carpet on my butt.
Here is what happens when you mix genes.
http://www.flurl.com/uploaded/Ratmonster_1983.html
(don't have a mouthful of coffee when watching)
Sounds like they got your number, dude.
I tend not to post that stuff.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.