Phenome Project
How Can My Collies Participate?

Research Organization:
University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine

What is the purpose of the study?
As described on www.caninephenome.org, “The Canine Phenome Project is an effort to describe the dog as a species in all of its variability and to understand the factors, both genetic and non-genetic, that contribute to this variability.... In order to facilitate the discovery of associations between genotype and phenotype or environmental factor and phenotype, efforts will be made to define canine phenome descriptors in fundamental terms most likely to reflect the influence of one gene or a few genes or the influence of a single environmental factor.”.

Who do I contact?
 Liz Hansen • 209A Connaway Hall
University of Missouri • Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (573) 884-3712
e-mail: hansenl@missouri.edu

What do they need?
As the website puts it, “Substantial progress toward the ultimate goal is likely if the extensive expertise of the vast dog-owning, dog-breeding, dog-training, and dog-treating public can be mobilized to contribute their knowledge in an efficient and organized fashion.”

What should I send?
 Owners will be able to use www.caninephenome.org to provide information on their dogs’ phenotype and pedigree. That information will then be stored in a password-protected database. A blood sample will also be obtained from each enrolled dog. As the website states, “We intend to perform at least one genotype assay on the DNA from each newly enrolled dog. This test will be done at no charge and will ensure and document that the DNA preparations from all enrolled dogs are of sufficient quality to be used in future scientific studies.... Similar tests offered by commercial laboratories usually cost between $75 and $140 per test.”

How Do I Submit a Sample?
See www.caninephenome.org

An educated breeder should be familiar with the concepts of genotype and phenotype. Phenotype is what you see when you look at your Collie: a sable coat, for instance. Genotype is your Collie’s genetic makeup: pure for sable, tri-factored sable, or sable merle.
The Canine Phenome Project is a companion study to MIT’s Canine Genome Project, which is mapping the DNA sequence of the dog. By starting with a female Boxer and then comparing her DNA sequences with those of 10 other dogs from different breeds, the team at MIT was able to identify hundreds of thousands of differences that can be used as DNA markers.
And thus we have the purpose behind the Canine Phenome Project. As the project’s website (www.caninephenome.org) explains, “In the next few years when the technology is improved, it should be possible to use many of the over a half a million identifiers from the Canine Genome Project as markers to discover the genes influencing a wide variety of canine characteristics and behaviors. This, however, will only be possible if the fundamental phenotypic characteristics from a large number of dogs are described and recorded in a format that is compatible with computer tests designed to detect genotype/phenotype associations....
“The goal of the Canine Phenome Project is to assemble a resource consisting of DNA samples from a wide variety of dogs with well-characterized phenotypes and have it ready when the technology is ready. Computer correlations between this marker data and information about the characteristics of the individual dogs that supplied the DNA will lead to the identification of genes responsible for canine diseases, temperaments, and other characteristics.”
Thanks to the involvement of the Collie Health Foundation, the Collie is one of the first three breeds to participate in the Canine Phenome Project.