A genetic dissection of breed composition and performance enhancement in the Alaskan sled dog.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Alaskan sled dog offers a rare opportunity to investigate the development of a dog breed based solely on performance, rather than appearance, thus setting the breed apart from most others. Several established breeds, many of which are recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), have been introduced into the sled dog population to enhance racing performance. We have used molecular methods to ascertain the constitutive breeds used to develop successful sled dog lines, and in doing so, determined the breed origins of specific performance-related behaviors.One hundred and ninety-nine Alaskan sled dogs were genotyped using 96 microsatellite markers that span the canine genome. These data were compared to that from 141 similarly genotyped purebred dog breeds. Sled dogs w

SUBMITTER: Huson HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2920855 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature