Long- and short-haired Weimaraner dogs represent two populations of one breed

Abstract

Weimaraners represent an old breed of hunting dogs. Today, two coat types are commonly distinguished, the more common short-hair (SH) and the long-hair (LH) variety, the latter having arisen from the SH Weimaraners. In order to analyze genetic variation in the coat varieties, we genotyped nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ABCA4 gene locus as well as six highly variable microsatellites scattered over the canine genome in the SH and LH populations. Three out of nine SNPs showed two alleles, allelic frequencies at two of these polymorphic sites differed significantly between SH and LH Weimaraners. Haplotype diversities for the three informative SNPs revealed higher estimates for the SH (0.515) than for the LH variety (0.364). In addition, two of six microsatellite markers showed significant differences in allelic frequencies between SH and LH Weimaraners. Unexpectedly, genetic diversities for all but one microsatellite were greater in LH than in SH Weimaraners. Similarly, the mean intra-individual genetic distance based on microsatellite markers was more pronounced in the LH population (0.62 for SH vs. 0.65 for LH) suggesting again closer genetic relationships among SH than LH Weimaraners. Taken together, the results of SNP analysis can be interpreted as reflections of early breed development whereas microsatellites mirror rather recent breeding strategies in the Weimaraner populations.