Resource provides insights for health studies in dogs and humans.
A new international database, the DoGa atlas, has been created, containing more than 100 different canine tissues to help researchers better understand gene regulation.
Hailed as a significant milestone in genetics research, the DoGA atlas is set to markedly improve understanding of hereditary diseases and provide insights for health research in dogs and humans.
The database is the result of close collaboration between researchers in genomics, veterinary medicine, and computational biology, known as the DoGa Consortium. Together, they collected more than 5,000 samples from wolves and various dog breeds using advanced RNA sequencing techniques.
PhD Matthias Hörtenhuber, one of the leading authors of the article from Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm, said: "We created a research resource that significantly enhances the use of dogs as a model for human health research, as well as directly for studying canine genetics.
“We demonstrated the potential of the database with several examples for different research purposes, such as comparing changes during embryonic development, the expression of disease genes in various tissues, and the regulation of genes related to behavioral traits.”
The database reveals which genes are active in different parts of the body and when they are activated. This aids researchers in understanding how genes function in various situations and their impact on health and diseases.
It enables researchers to study gene expression in different tissues, and facilitates the prioritisation of hereditary factors linked to diseases – therefore encouraging research between dogs and humans.
Furthermore, the data may also be used to map genes linked to cancer, epilepsy and physciatric disorders.
Professor Hannes Lohi, one of the lead researchers of the study from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Medicine at the University of Helsinki, said: "By improving our understanding of gene regulation in both dogs and wolves, the DoGA database is expected to have a significant impact on both veterinary and human medicine.
“For example, we can investigate how much the brains of dogs and wolves differ from each other. Additionally, the unique genetic history and breed structures of dogs, combined with the new functional gene map, provide an effective framework for studying genetic diseases."
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
