Comparison of regional gene expression differences in the brains of the domestic dog and human.
Comparison of the expression profiles of 2,721 genes in the cerebellum, cortex and pituitary gland of three American Staffordshire terriers, one beagle and one fox hound revealed regional expression differences in the brain but failed to reveal marked differences among breeds, or even individual dogs. Approximately 85 per cent (42 of 49 orthologue comparisons) of the regional differences in the dog are similar to those that differentiate the analogous human brain regions. A smaller percentage of human differences were replicated in the dog, particularly in the cortex, which may generally be evolving more rapidly than other brain regions in mammals. This study lays the foundation for detailed analysis of the population structure of transcriptional variation as it relates to cognitive and neurological phenotypes in the domestic dog.
Kennerly
Erin
E
Department of Genetics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Thomson
Susanne
S
Olby
Natasha
N
Breen
Matthew
M
Gibson
Greg
G
D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic