Many dog breeds are known for their personality and behavioral characteristics, from the distinctive sounds of huskies to the howls of Border Collies. People have worked to identify the genes associated with many of these behaviors, taking advantage of the fact that dogs can interbreed. But this creates its own experimental challenges, as it can be difficult to isolate certain behaviors from breed-specific physical traits – smaller dog breeds may appear more aggressive because they often feel threatened.
To address this, a team of researchers recently conducted the largest gene/behavior association study within a single dog breed. Taking advantage of a population of more than 1,000 golden retrievers, they found several genes associated with that breed’s behavior. A high percentage of these genes match regions of the human genome that are also associated with behavioral differences. But, in many cases, these engagements have been very different in behavior.
went to the dogs
The work, conducted by a team based at the University of Cambridge, used the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, in which more than 3,000 owners of these dogs filled out annual surveys, which included information about their dogs’ behaviour. Blood samples were obtained from the dogs of more than 1,000 of those owners and shipped; The researchers used these samples to scan the dogs’ genomes for variants. They were then compared to ratings of the dogs’ behavior on a number of issues, such as fear or aggression toward strangers or other dogs.
Using the data, the researchers identified when different regions of the genome were often associated with specific variants. In total, 14 behavioral tendencies were examined, and 12 genomic regions were associated with specific behaviors, and the other nine showed somewhat weaker associations. For many of these traits, it was difficult to find a lot because Golden Retrievers are extremely friendly and sweet dogs, so they scored low on traits like aggression and fearfulness.
That result was important, because some similar regions of the genome were associated with very different behavior in racially mixed populations. For example, in a non-breed-specific study two different areas associated with tactile sensitivity in golden retrievers were linked to love of chasing and owner-directed aggression. That finding suggests that the studies were identifying genes that may be involved in setting the stage for the behavior, but were directed into specific outcomes by other genetic or environmental factors.
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