Saluki Genetics Study
In my interactions with the researchers at the Van Andel Institute (who are including Salukis
in their NIH supported cancer studies), I have been fortunate to meet with Dr. Mark Neff.
He is enthusiastic and fascinating to talk to.
His interests lie in the genetic causes for coat variations (Coat variation in the domestic dog
is governed by variants in three genes, Science. 2009), behavior traits as well as performance indicators in various breeds.
He has agreed to do the seminar at the SCOA National Specialty Show in Lexington, Kentucky in June. He has plans for different projects involving the unique characteristics of Salukis. He will address these questions through a combination
of gene mapping, molecular and cell biology,
and comparative histology.
Saluki samples are needed. I am particularly interested in getting samples from Salukis with coat abnormalities, such as bald thigh syndrome, color dilution alopecia, flank alopecia, abnormally fine and sparse coats and “double coating” with profuse feathering. Blood samples from affected Salukis as well as skin biopsy samples are needed. Please contact me if you are willing to participate.
-MaryDee Sist, DVM
2010 SCOA National Seminar:
Genetics as a Lens for Viewing
the Unique Biology of the Saluki
presented by Dr. Mark Neff
Genetics holds promise for elucidating the basis
of inherited disease in the dog. Gene discoveries can be translated into DNA tests that inform breeding decisions to reduce or even eliminate certain diseases. The same molecular approaches used to understand hereditary disease can also
be applied to illuminate the traits that help define
a breed's standard. This is biologically important because the profound diversity in size, shape,
and behavior across breeds will help us better understand basic biological processes, which is a prerequisite for truly making sense of the defects in disease etiologies.
Understanding pointing or lure-coursing, for example, will help to establish the basic rules by which genes govern behavior. This in turn will lay the groundwork for deciphering how these rules are broken in human mental illness and psychiatric disease. In this talk, I will frame the unique biological attributes of the Saluki that are of particular interest to biologists, and discuss ongoing research into the basis of these traits,
as well as the root causes of hereditary diseases such as cancer susceptibility.
Biography
Dr. Mark Neff is the founding Director of the Center for Canine Health & Performance, a research initiative jointly supported by the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix and the Van Andel Research Institute
of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Neff received his PhD for cell cycle research in classical yeast genetics at the University of Virginia in the laboratory of Dr. Dan Burke. After graduate school, Dr. Neff accepted a Human Genome Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship from the U.S. DOE to work on the original Dog Genome Project with Dr. Jasper Rine, a member of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, at UC Berkeley. Dr. Neff's current research interests marry dual aspects of canine biology. The first aims to tackle the basis of inherited disorders in the dog, as these serve as natural models of human disease. The second aims to leverage adaptive variation in the dog to shed light on the evolution of form and function. The laboratory has a particular emphasis on using selectively bred action patterns, such as pointing and herding, to probe the mechanics of the mammalian mind. Both research aspects, health and performance, are driven by the unique strengths of breed genetics, and the ability to gain molecular access to causative genes through effective and efficient genome analyses.