| Novel insight in Keepers genome |
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| In the autumn of
last year I received news of a breeder who had chosen Lochdene Time
Keeper as a stud dog for his bitch. From this litter 2 offspring have
died at the age of approximatly one year. Due to the breeder, these
progeny suffered from kidneys disfunction, which has been determined by
a pathological examination. Initially I did not worry, as Keeper is FN clear, just like the bitch of the breeder. The breeder also wrote, that
there is a novel possibility of DNA testing for this kidney disease,
which name I have never heard before. This test has proven that his
bitch appears to be a carrier of a mutation in a gene, which is
associated to this disease in many other breeds. As Keeper has about
250 progenies and I had never received feedback on any abnormalities
of any of his progeny, testing Keepers DNA seemed absurd to me. OK, after some
time of reflection, my opinion changed and I have used the service of
DOGenes for this test. The laboratory uses cheek swabs for DNA testing.
The first swabs carried not sufficient genetic material. A sign? It
took some time of reflection again, but I collected three additional
cheek swabs to repeat the test. The result was deflating: Keeper's DNA
also indicates that he is carrier of a mutation in a defined fragment
of his DNA. In other breeds, this particular DNA sequence is associated
with Juvenile Renal Dysplasia (JRD), a subgroup of kidney diseases.
Initially it was impossible for me to believe in that result. Meanwhile I have accepted the facts. It is one more of the many yet nameless diseases which now, thanks to the science, has a name and can be assessed using a DNA test. There will be many more diseases and we need to learn to live and work with this side of the coin. For me it is absolutly not of interest where this story started, who has been silent and where it has appeared once before. It is of no avail for breeding purebred dogs to practice an ostrich-like policy, rubbing the hands and thinking: I am not concerned. You are here faster than you expect with this or any other disease. Each of us borrows a little bit of genetic material from others and tries to use it in the best way. Furthermore, putting up stories like this in a somewhat sensation-seeking way to the web ultimately unsettle many breeders and are, thus, not qualified to support breeding purebred dogs, as it will stoke the fears of many breeders to bring a little bit more transparency into their work. I have to admit that it is not easy for me to walk this line because I know - after more than 50 years of experience - how things are often going in situations like this. In my kennel, I will take all necessary steps. This DNA test is another, invaluable tool in our hands. Writing this thoughts I have the idea, that science might be so advanced compared e.g. to us breeders, because it evaluates topics like this critical but solely and alone objective, free from envy, jealousy and spectacular accusations. Finally, two aspects are important for me to mention. We have to keep in mind that only 2 out of his many progeny were affected, demonstrating, that there is no reason for either panic or hysteria. But most importantly: I'm very happy on the contribution of this particular dog to my breeding attempts, because apart from the described story, he has inherited infinitely positive traits to his progeny. I am very grateful to Dr. Bernd Hackauf for his summary of the current state of the art of science and technology in an accompanying report. |