Grant Amount: $108,000

Dr. Shaying Zhao, PhD, University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc

January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2014

Sponsor(s): Affenpinscher Club of America, American Boxer Charitable Foundation, Canaan Dog Club of America, Collie Health Foundation, Kuvasz Club of America, Papillon Club of America, Portuguese Water Dog Foundation, Puli Club of America, Inc., University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc, Welsh Terrier Club of America, Inc.

Breed(s): Boxer

Disease(s): Genome Mapping

Research Program Area: Cardiology

Abstract

The sequencing of the genome of man's best friend in 2005 has provided an invaluable resource to the canine research community, and has reinforced the position of the dog as an important model organism to study human physiology and disease. Unlike the human and the rodent models (the mouse and the rat), very few dog genes had been sequenced prior to its whole genome sequencing. Consequently, the dog genome has been annotated for its gene content primarily based on mapping the gene-related sequences from the human, the mouse, the rat, and other non-dog species to the dog genome. While providing the research community with an unprecedentedly large set of dog genes, the definition of DNA sequences as coding sequences (i.e. gene annotation) has substantial errors and is missing in dog-specific information in many aspects. This significantly hinders research in many fields such as disease gene discovery and cancer-causative gene mutation identification, where functional information about a gene is required to make progress. Dr. Zhao will use state of the art next-generation sequencing strategies to identify genes/transcripts expressed in major dog tissues and cell types. The valuable data, along with more refined sequence alignment between the dog and other species, will be used to build the most accurate and complete annotation of the dog genome for its gene annotation. The project will significantly facilitate research in areas of canine health most significant to the AKC Canine Health Foundation constituency and lead to important RNA-based (transcriptomic) and protein-based (proteomic) research in the future.