2614: Refining the Genetic Linkage For Idiopathic Epilepsy in the Belgian Tervuren and Sheepdog
Grant Status: Closed
Abstract
Idiopathic epilepsy affects over 30 different AKC dog breeds and was identified as the top canine health issue in the 2001 AKC/CHF Parent Club Survey. Preliminary studies in the Belgian Tervuren and Sheepdog indicate that although this is a heritable disorder governed by many genes, there exists a single gene of very large effect on the incidence of epilepsy. The epileptic condition influenced by this particular gene is inherited as an autosomal recessive. Preliminary data in our laboratory, derived from screening the DNA of affected dogs, identified a chromosomal region appearing to be associated with epilepsy. The specific objective of this project is to refine this initial association to a very discrete region of the DNA in order to ultimately develop a genetic marker associated with epilepsy. Such a genetic marker will permit the identification of carriers of epilepsy in Belgian Tervuren and Belgian Sheepdogs, and possibly other breeds, prior to breeding with the end result that breeders can make informed, health-based breeding decisions.
Publication(s)
Belanger, J. M., Heinonen, T., Famula, T. R., Mandigers, P. J. J., Leegwater, P. A., Hytönen, M. K., Lohi, H., & Oberbauer, A. M. (2022). Validation of a Chromosome 14 Risk Haplotype for Idiopathic Epilepsy in the Belgian Shepherd Dog Found to Be Associated with an Insertion in the RAPGEF5 Gene. Genes, 13(7), 1124. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13071124
Belanger, J. M., Famula, T. R., Gershony, L. C., Palij, M. K., & Oberbauer, A. M. (2020). Genome-wide association analysis of idiopathic epilepsy in the Belgian Shepherd. Canine Medicine and Genetics, 7(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-020-00091-x
Oberbauer, A. M., Belanger, J. M., Grossman, D. I., Regan, K. R., & Famula, T. R. (2010). Genome-wide linkage scan for loci associated with epilepsy in Belgian Shepherd Dogs. BMC Genetics, 11, 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2156-11-35
>Seppälä, E. H., Koskinen, L. L. E., Gulløv, C. H., Jokinen, P., Karlskov-Mortensen, P., Bergamasco, L., … Lohi, H. (2012). Identification of a Novel Idiopathic Epilepsy Locus in Belgian Shepherd Dogs. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e33549. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033549
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