 Boxer: The Dog to Sequence
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June 2, 2003 — Following the decoding of bee and monkey genomes now nearing completion, U.S. researchers this month plan to begin sequencing the genome of a dog on the long road to understanding the maze of human genetics.
For its study, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, chose the boxer out of 60 breeds of dog, because it was found to be the best canine reference genome.
The genome is the chemical code needed to build a living creature, plant, animal or human.
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The blueprint comprises DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, a long molecular chain of phosphate and sugar in the form of a double helix.
Sequencing consists of "reading" the DNA bases, breaking down the DNA into small segments and then reassembling the data.
Once the boxer's genome is sequenced, researchers will collect and analyze DNA specimens from 10 to 20 other breeds of dogs, including the beagle, an often-used research animal, to shed light on genetic variations in canine species.
The NHGRI sequencing of the boxer genome will be carried out at the Whitehead/MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Center for Genome Research in Cambridge, Mass. It is expected to take about a year and cost some $50 million.
The canine genome is similar to the human, containing some 2.8 billion basic DNA pairs.
"Comparing the human genome sequence with those of other organisms helps us to identify regions of similarity and difference, providing critical clues about the structure and function of human genes," said NHGRI director Francis Collins. "This information should point us toward better strategies for treating and preventing human disease. With each genome that we sequence, this approach becomes more powerful," he said.
"Once we are able to compare the dog genome with the human genome, the dog will likely prove to be man's best friend in more ways than we ever imagined." Kerstin Lindblad-Toh of the Whitehead-MIT center said canine sequencing "will be a wonderful basic resource that will rapidly propel the discovery of disease genes forward."
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