It's not as daft as you may think, but man's best friend could prove an invaluable tool in helping to hunt for genetic mutations that lead to disease in humans. The reason? Dogs contract very similar diseases to us. This article looks at how they can help.
One of the leading proponents of this novel approach to look at how genetic mutations cause disease is Kerstin Lindblad-Toh of Uppsala University in Sweden and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The idea at the heart of this concept is the belief that dogs have similar diseases to humans. For example, cancer and allergies. As dogs have been bred into clear isolated populations it will be easier to find a mutated gene responsible for disease in canines than in humans. Once the mutated gene has been located, it can be used to make a comparison with the same gene in humans. After all there is extensive genetic homology between most animals.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulaloe/140805906/
Dogs and Genetic Mutations
At a recent functional genomics conference in Austria (October 2008) Linblad-Toh cited examples of where dogs are currently helping in the hunt for genetic mutations that cause human diseases.
Her team has found a genetic mutation in dachshunds that leads to a condition called day blindness. Humans can suffer from a similar condition, and research into the mutated protein in dogs is helping to shed new light on the condition in humans.
In fact so serious is this work being taken than a consortium of veterinary schools from 12 European countries will spend four years on a project that starts with the collection of 10,000 DNA samples from purebred dogs. Then the dog genomes of healthy animals will be compared to the genomes of pooches that are suffering from a similar disease to humans. This will identify the mutated dog gene, which can then be compared to the similar human gene to see if the same mutation is present.
It's not a just a one-way street. The knowledge gained from this research will also be used to reduce the incidence of inherited disease amongst some dog breeds.
Functional Genomics
The project will be more than just look at the sequences of mutated genes. The teams will want to use a functional genomics approach to understand disease pathogenesis. That is looking at all the ways genes and proteins interact with each other, with the environment and with all the complex biochemical signaling pathways. A genetic disorder is the ultimate result of abnormal interactions.
For so long humans have relied on dogs, as work mates, companions and security. And with this new role our canine chums are coming to our aid once again.