Give a Dachshund a Genome!

Post date: Jan 26, 2016 8:33:12 PM

Give a Dog a Genome is a new initiative launched by the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust to create the UK’s largest canine genome bank to help generations of dogs. The Breed Council's Health Committee has asked the AHT to include at least one variety of Dachshund in the project.This genome bank will improve dog health by radically increasing our understanding of the canine genome. The AHT aims to sequence the entire genomes (all 2.4 billion letters of DNA) of 50 different dog breeds by the end of 2016.They are appealing to dog breed communities to donate £1,000 towards this project, and the AHT will match each donation with £1,000 from funding provided by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. In return, the breed will represent one of the 50 genomes sequenced and will help to make asignificant contribution to the future of canine genetics research. You can support our fundraising for this, here.Every genome sequenced is a permanent resource which will contribute towards canine research for many years to come, to the benefit of all breeds – not just those 50 sequenced now. This is a colossal task - DNA is a string of A, C, G & Ts…if each was 1mm long the whole genome of each dog we sequence would stretch from Lands End to John O’Groats and back again! It will enhance our understanding of which changes in DNA sequence have an effect on dog health and which changes are benign or neutral.

Whole genome sequencing is a hugely important tool that has recently become available to the Animal Health Trust. It costs around £2,000 to sequence the entire genome of an individual dog, and the AHT is fortunate enough to have received £50,000 from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT) for this purpose.

This information will have profound effects on researchers' ability to identify mutations which cause inherited diseases in purebred dogs, and the rate at which we can develop new DNA tests as tools for breeders.

Give a Dog a Genome will revolutionise canine genetics research. Dachshunds will be a part of this important project.

You can support our fundraising for this, here. [With grateful thanks to Hayley Cunningham for setting up the fundraising page]