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Monday, March 28, 2011

Furnishings in dachshunds - a practical application of scientific research and DNA testing.

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the coat problems in wirehaired dachshunds. For those who have never heard of the issue, I'd recommend reading article 1 and article 2.

Well, we are happy to report that  Vetgen has a  DNA test for the mutation associated with the presence of furnishings. The original scientific paper examining genetic basis of coat in canines was published as "Coat Variation in Domestic Dog Is Governed by Variants in Three Genes" in October 2009. It is a highly technical paper, but it is well summarized at click here.

The bottom line is that  the researchers identified RSPO2 as a potential wirehair gene. It is a dominant mutation.  Actually, it has been known for a very long time that absence of furnishings (smooth coat)  is recessive to the presence of furnishings (wirehaired coat), but now we have a specific DNA sequence responsible for it.


So tomorrow we are sending three samples to Vetgen, specifically cheek swabs taken from three dogs:

Bernie does not have furnishings even though he came from wirehaired parents. His test should show that he does not have RSPO2 mutation.
Paika von Moosbach-Zuzelek  comes from a litter that was 100% wire and my gut feeling is that she has two copies of  RSPO2 mutation. If this is a case, she'd produce 100% wire litter with a dog like Bernie.
Tom vom Linteler-Forst has produced so far just one litter, which was 100% wire. I'd like to check whether he is homozygous for mutation.



We'll keep you posted when the results arrive. The test for three dogs is $165.
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6 comments:

  1. Scott LeindeckerApril 2, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    Hi Jolanta,
    When you say you are checking Tommy to see if he is homozygous for the mutation. Do you mean you are looking for two copies of the alleles that code for the dominant trait.
    Would that be the same thing you are looking for in Paika.
    Scott Leindecker

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  2. Jolanta JeanneneyApril 2, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    Scott,
    Yes, you are correct. The test will check whether Tommy and Paika have two copies of dominant alleles for furnishings (=wirehaired coat).

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  3. Scott LeindeckerApril 3, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    So would there be a better than average chance that our Arwen would have the dominant mutation too.

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  4. Jolanta JeanneneyApril 3, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Scott,
    There is no such a thing as "average chance". If Arwen is a wire, then we know that she has at least one copy of RSPO2 gene. If both Hexel and Tommy (her parents) have two copies of the gene, then there is 100% chance that she has two copies of RSPO2. If one of them has just one copy of RSPO2, then a chance for her to have two copies is 50%. If both Hexel and Tommy have only one copy of RSPO2, then a chance for her to have only one copy is as twice as much as for her to have two copies.

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  5. BigshrimpApril 5, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    Very interesting paper...thanks for posting.

    It would be interesting if they included some description of undercoat in their experiment and how these (or any other) genes play a role in its abundance on a dog.

    Nonetheless, great information.

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  6. AnonymousNovember 21, 2013 at 1:34 PM

    So if I am seeking a Pin-Haired Dachshund what should I be seeking from a breeder?

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