Gene Causing Bladder Stones Identified

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| Print | By | November 14, 2008 1:55 PM

For at least a century, Dalmatian dogs have been afflicted with high uric acid levels, causing bladder stones in many of the dogs. A new study by a team of veterinary researchers at University of California at Davis, has identified the gene mutation that causes this defect. The study may have implications for helping people.

You see, only humans, great apes and Dalmatian dogs always produce these high levels of uric acid in their urine and blood. As a result, people can develop kidney stones, hypertension and painful joint inflammation--Dalmatians also frequently develop bladder stones that too often require surgery to be removed.

11-14 dalmatian.jpg

The lead author on the study, veterinary geneticist Danika Bannasch, says the gene mutation could have been accidentally introduced by breeders selecting dogs with more distinct spots. By identifying the mutation, breeders can remove the defective trait by selectively breeding Dalmatians with normal dogs (Dalmatian-pointer combinations) that were produced in the early 1970s.

By Dec. 1, the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine will begin offering DNA testing for the mutation in dogs to allow breeders to eliminate the trait. Information on the testing program will be available online at http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu

The study was supported, in part, by a fellowship from the Morris Animal Foundation and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health.

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