Advancing Genetic Selection and Behavioral Genomics of Working Dogs Through Collaborative Science.

Frances L Chen,Elinor K Karlsson,Jessica P Hekman,Brittney Logan,Kathryn A Lord,Madeline Zimmermann,Eldin A Leighton,Jane Russenberger

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.662429

Abstract

The ancient partnership between people and dogs is struggling to meet modern day needs, with demand exceeding our capacity to safely breed high-performing and healthy dogs. New statistical genetic approaches and genomic technology have the potential to revolutionize dog breeding, by transitioning from problematic phenotypic selection to methods that can preserve genetic diversity while increasing the proportion of successful dogs. To fully utilize this technology will require ultra large datasets, with hundreds of thousands of dogs. Today, dog breeders struggle to apply even the tools available now, stymied by the need for sophisticated data storage infrastructure and expertise in statistical genetics. Here, we review recent advances in animal breeding, and how a new approach to dog breeding would address the needs of working dog breeders today while also providing them with a path to realizing the next generation of technology. We provide a step-by-step guide for dog breeders to start implementing estimated breeding value selection in their programs now, and we describe how genotyping and DNA sequencing data, as it becomes more widely available, can be integrated into this approach. Finally, we call for data sharing among dog breeding programs as a path to achieving a future that can benefit all dogs, and their human partners too.

Highlights

A successful working dog is healthy, physically fit, and able to perform at an exceptionally high-level, with the behavioral, physiological, and structural characteristics required varying by job [1] (Figure 1)
Behavioral trait data was being collected using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), but the estimates of heritability for C-BARQ measured traits were very low, and insufficient for driving genetic improvement [45]. It took a global collaboration of working dog breeders 10 years to develop a tool for assessing behavioral traits with the standardized terminology, inter-rater reliability, and score resolution needed for genetic selection
While the experiences of Guiding Eyes illustrate the potential of estimated breeding values (EBVs) selection and how to effectively implement this six-step approach, EBVs have not been widely adopted by working dog breeding organizations because most programs, on their own, have neither the dog population size nor the staff expertise to implement it successfully

Summary

Introduction

A successful working dog is healthy, physically fit, and able to perform at an exceptionally high-level, with the behavioral, physiological, and structural characteristics required varying by job [1] (Figure 1). Selecting dogs for breeding based solely on their adult phenotype is an inefficient way to increase the frequency of polygenically inherited desired traits in the generation and is likely to lead to reduced genetic diversity and increased rates of disease [20, 30, 31]. By using an overall selection index, breeding program managers can identify a genetically diverse cohort of young dogs most likely to confer desired traits in their offspring.

Results

Conclusion