Coat Variation in the Domestic Dog Is Governed by Variants in Three Genes

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1177808
• Publication Date: 2009-08-28T02:00:33Z
• Authors: Edouard Cadieu; Mark W. Neff; Pascale Quignon; Kari Walsh; Kevin Chase; Heidi G. Parker; Bridgett M. VonHoldt; Alison Rhue; Adam Boyko; Alexandra Byers; Aaron Wong; Dana S. Mosher; Abdel G. Elkahloun; Tyrone C. Spady; Catherine André; K. Gordon Lark; Michelle Cargill; Carlos D. Bustamante; Robert K. Wayne; Elaine A. Ostrander
• Keywords: Coat

Dog Coats Shed Genetic Secrets The coats of domestic dogs show great variation—long, short, straight, wavy, curly, wiry, or smooth. To investigate how this variation arises, Cadieu et al. (p. 150 , published online 27 August) performed genome-wide association studies on 80 different dog breeds. coat phenotype could be dissected into three simple traits length, curl, and growth pattern texture with each trait controlled by one major gene, FGF5 (fibroblast factor-5), KRT71 (keratin-71), RSPO2 (R-spondin-2), respectively. In combination, variants in these genes alone account for the vast majority phenotypes purebred United States. Thus, a small number simply inherited can remixed to create extraordinary phenotypic variation.