[kathleen morrill]

Hi Rebecca,

We are gearing up to launch the breed mix results for dogs who have been sequenced. No results should be up yet, except for a couple test dogs, so what you are seeing might be a glitch related to that process. Would you mind emailing support@darwinsark.org to describe what you see? I really appreciate it!

We’re very close to releasing breed mix results for the first batch of 979 dogs. 🙂

Thank you,
Kathleen

[kathleen morrill]

Hi Dawn,

This article does a good job at explaining what’s at play: chocolate being recessive and smaller gene pools. The full paper can be found here, and explores more than just the relationship between color and health. It has a lot of good information for anyone interested with labradors or caring for labradors!

The roots of this breeding isolation may go both ways: breeding specifically for chocolates, and breeding for *not* chocolate. Some non-chocolate breeders that want to avoid “Dudley” labradors (brown-nosed yellows) will make sure that the recessive chocolate allele is excluded from their gene pool.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard people say “chocolate labs are crazy” (has anyone else heard this?)… with the information we collect in Darwin’s Dogs — behavioral surveys, color and breed (owner-reported), and genetic information — we might be able to test the veracity of that statement.

[kathleen morrill]

Excellent summary, Jennifer!

This is a great example of how citizen science can help power new discoveries. There’s so much to be learned from what *doesn’t* meet our expectations about a dog from their DNA. 🙂

[kathleen morrill]

Jamie,

No worries, and thank you for your support! I also wanted to clarify what I mentioned earlier about batches sent for sequencing: those who donate will not wait for their dog’s sample to be run. If there are still spaces in the batch, those get filled by Free level participants, without delaying the run. So, my main point is that, with us now accepting donations, we expect the processing of all samples to speed up.

I can comment on the tick project — indeed, it is separate from Darwin’s Dogs, in the people involved and the funding. The common threads shared are lab (under Dr. Karlsson) and Darwin’s Ark as a platform for participation. The leading lab member on the tick project is Gaurav Chaunhan, another graduate student. The first phase of tick collection has actually happened last year, and the project is not currently accepting samples. When it does open again, it will be seasonal.

I’ll take note on making the differences between projects (funding, people involved) more clear on the website! In general, grants have specific designations for how the funding gets spent and on what, so there should be little-to-no overlap.

[kathleen morrill]

Ronald-Larkin,

Thanks for catching this — there appears an error in how the average duration is displaying for the survey results, I will notify our team!

[kathleen morrill]

Hey Casey,

I can elaborate on that! We talk about the general approach in our MuttMix survey FAQ: http://iaabcprojects.org/faq/ In fact, many of the dogs you see in the Pup Quiz are Darwin’s Dogs whose owners provided photos and videos for part 1 of the quiz. We are planning a part 2 which may include new mutts!

Linda and Diane from our lab also wrote an IAABC article on this, called “How Accurate are those Dog DNA Tests?” It’s a lot more detailed than the FAQ, but has great illustrations.

In addition to breed percentages, we will also be giving extra information: how confident we are for each breed call, how confident we are that a dog is mixed or purebred, and whether we think your dog may have a breed that is not in our reference panel. We also do not hide missing data — if the algorithm says a portion of your dog’s DNA is uncalled for any known breed, then we tell you that portion.

Also, as we improve our reference panel, your dog’s results may become more refined over time. Some breeds are under-represented and we will be looking for more to add to the panel, by reaching out to owners through Darwin’s Ark.

[kathleen morrill]

I’d like to post this important reminder about genetics and health: DNA tests for health-related genes found in particular breeds may not be predictive of health consequences (see this article for more information). Consulting your dog’s veterinarian is the most important step in managing their health, especially if they are currently sick. Most interactions between genetics and health, in both dogs and people, are unknown. Only through research can we determine the predictive power of current tests and discover new DNA associations that affect dogs across all breeds.

Darwin’s Ark intends to be a platform for that research. We will continue to be open enrollment, as every dog — even those not-yet sequenced — is helping us better understand health and behavior across all dogs. For example, we can determine the frequency of food allergies in dogs, and whether certain environmental factors have influence over traits.

DNA provides another level of information, and has always been contingent on grant funding. The cost of sequencing is the largest limitation. Donations help speed up this process: samples are sent in batches, so the more spaces in a batch funded and filled, the faster the batch is sent for sequencing. So, when someone who funds their dog through the Explorer level, they expedite not only their dog’s sample, but also other samples (Free and Explorer level participants)!

[kathleen morrill]

Connie —

Yes, a saliva swab is all that we need! The instructions for its proper use are here: https://darwinsark.org/swab/ . Everything else we collect is from users telling us about their dogs through online surveys.

[kathleen morrill]

Kay —

The wait list indication is something everyone who hasn’t yet received a kit since the new website launch will need to indicate. On the plus side, the kit should actually come to you faster now that we use a third party shipper to send kits, rather than by hand.

[kathleen morrill]

Also, Casey — it looks like your dog (who is in the final stages of analysis) will be among the first batch of dogs to receive results on the website, which should happen in the next few months. You’ll receive an email when the results are up.

[kathleen morrill]

Casey —

The Trailblazer Level donation is a special case in which your dog’s DNA would be sequenced at very high depth, different from the analysis we perform on most dogs. Fewer than 1,000 dogs in the world have ever been sequenced in this way and data from these dogs is incredibly useful for research. For dogs sequenced in this way, owners will receive a special certificate and recognition for great scientific contribution on the website.

As your dog’s DNA is being analyzed, results are the next step for your dog. There’s nothing you need to do at this time. We hope to get breed reports up on the website soon — I’m personally working on this step. Then, plenty more research will follow, with your dog contributing to that research!

Sheryl —

Yes, you’ll have to click again for the wait list — I’m sorry for the inconvenience. We will be sending out an email about this situation to everyone soon. We used to send kits out by hand, but have since switched to a third party shipper. On the plus side, kits should be sent out much more regularly now!

[kathleen morrill]

Note for new users who haven’t gotten a kit yet: you will need to sign up to get on the waiting list after you complete the 10 surveys under “My Laboratory”. This isn’t going to change how long you wait, but you do need to tell us you still want one!

[kathleen morrill]

Yes, all results and data will be shared with participants, regardless of donation status.

[kathleen morrill]

Hi Melissa — no bait & switch here! Every user is in queue for a free DNA Kit once they’ve have completed at least 10 surveys for their dog, with the DNA processing funded by grant awards as has always been. The donation level kits expediate DNA sample processing and will help speed up research, independent of grant funding.

[kathleen morrill]

Hello Chere,

The classic mask seen in St. Bernard dogs is a pattern called “piebald”. Clarence Cook Little, a dog geneticist, discovered in the 1950s how this coat color pattern is inherited and described it as the “S” spotting locus. Later, three groups of scientists independently found the gene responsible for this pattern: MITF. Elinor Karlsson has found that differences in the DNA around this gene, MITF, seem to result in differences in the extent of the piebald pattern.

While I cannot say for certain what causes the half mask in St. Bernard’s, I think the gene MITF may be a good candidate for its genetic basis!

The genetic cause for hind-leg dew claws has been attributed to a few different changes in the gene LMBR1. This gene controls hind-leg development. It has also been involved in human polydactyly — that is, people having extra toes!

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Kathleen

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