Your dog is one-of-a-kind. But have you ever wondered what makes them that way? At Embark, we make it our business to know your pup down to their DNA. Our scientists recently unlocked a secret to understanding dogs’ coat patterns — and they couldn’t have done it without the help of everyday dog owners who wanted to make a difference.
A new discovery
Recently, Embark scientists worked in collaboration with its citizen scientist customers to make the unique genetic discovery that the patterned coat known as “roaning” is strongly associated with a genomic region on chromosome 38 and likely regulated by the usherin gene (USH2A).
This type of subtly spotted coat, found in dogs and horses, can act as nature’s camouflage. Roaning can make dogs more difficult to see in fields or forests, a trait that is particularly desirable in certain hunting dogs. Roaning is common in certain breeds, including German Shorthaired Pointers, Australian Cattle Dogs, and English Cocker Spaniels.
Embark scientists studied the genotype and physical appearance of nearly 1,000 dogs. One of those dogs, Bogey the Australian Cattle Dog, became the key to unlocking this genetic discovery because of his atypical non-roan coat trait. Bogey’s owner chose to include Bogey’s genotype in Embark research and also provided Embark with a photo, which is part of what made this novel discovery possible.
The dog owners who participated in this study became part of a larger trend towards crowd-sourced scientific discovery. Similar work from other…
Embark’s Newest Discovery Allows Dog Owners to Test for Roaning. Retrieved April 12, 2021 from https://embarkvet.com/resources/blog/embarks-newest-discovery-allows-dog-owners-to-test-for-roaning/
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