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Gene Responsible for Bladder Stones in Dalmatians Found

Researchers at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a gene mutation that causes high levels of uric acid and bladder stones in Dalmatians.

Elevated levels of uric acid is a trait found in all Dalmatians; other dog breeds do not usually produce uric acid, according to the university. These high levels can cause bladder stones which often have to be removed surgically.

With this finding, dog breeders may be able to eliminate this trait.

“This defect, which in dogs is peculiar to the entire Dalmatian breed, has been reported for nearly a century and was probably unintentionally introduced as breeders worked to select more distinctive spotting patterns,” said Danika Bannasch, DVM, Ph.D., lead author on the study.

“It is now possible that this trait can be removed from the breed by crossing Dalmatians with the normal offspring of the original Dalmatian-pointer breeding that occurred in the early 1970s,” she said.

The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the school will begin offering DNA testing for the mutation in dogs by Dec. 1.

The discovery will also help scientists better understand the related problem in humans. Elevated levels of uric acid in humans can result in kidney stones, hypertension and gout, an inflammation of the joints.

The study, which was published Friday in the scientific journal Public Library of Science, 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. <HOME>

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Gene Responsible for Bladder Stones in Dalmatians Found

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Without the recognition by the AKC and the acceptance of the Normal Uric Acid Dalmatians into the registry (again), these Dalmatians will remain merely a scientific oddity to be studied at universities. As a breeder of AKC Champion Dalmatians, I would welcome these dogs into the AKC registry and hope to incorporate them into my breeding program with intention to acquire the low uric acid gene and thus advance the breed to a healthier status. With this foundation, breeders from here to the future can build upon this program to reduce the devastating damage of kidney stones and blockage in Dalmatians. Liz, Sheridan, IL Posted: 11/10/2008 8:43:48 AM As an NIH funded academic clinician researcher and Dalmatian breeder/fancier, I have devoted the last two years to intense study of this project. Obstructive urate stone disease afflicts predominantly male Dalmatians 9 times more frequently than the general canine population and costs an estimated $10,000,000 per year to treat. The availability of a genetically modified strain of purebred Dalmatians descending from a single Pointer outcross 12 generations and over 10,000 Dalmatians ago offers true hope for dramatically reducing the high occurrence of urate stone disease in this Breed back to the normal canine population levels. Despite overwhelmingly convincing data bolstered by this outstanding work by Dr. Danika Bannasch and her team at UC Davis, the AKC, its parent club, and a relatively small number of Dalmatian breeders in the US have blocked the registration of these dogs, despite 100% accurate 12-generation pedigree and parentage analyses supported by clear DNA evidence that exceeds minimum requirements for registration in any and every purebred registry in the world. The AKC registration of these descendants would facilitate a much more rapid expansion of the normal canine urinary uric acid producing gene pool in the Breed. The significant hope for discovery of genetic diseases in dogs is that such findings can be translated from the lab bench of investigators to meaningful decisions in the whelping boxes of the breeders of purebred dogs, all with the goal to improve the health and well-being of the Breed. The AKC, Dalmatian Club of America, and Canine Health Foundation are faced with a critical problem of how to translate basic research into clinical practice, literally from bench to whelping box. The clinical veterinary community should help the purebred dog fanciers through education of the organizations such as AKC, DCA and CHF as to the impact of genetic diseases and their treatment through breeding decisions, that can now be well-informed by such discoveries as reported here. Irv, South Berwick, ME Posted: 11/10/2008 5:47:54 AM There is an on-going controversy within the American Kennel Club as to whether the Low Uric Acid Dalmatians can be registered. This issue is dividing the Dalmatian community with the majority favoring exclusion. The Dalmatian Club of America, apparently feeling that one non-Dalmatian 12 generations back in a pedigree renders a dog not purebred have voted after a rancorous debate to not even allow discussion of the matter. The AKC who could intervene says it is "just a registry" with no direct responsibility for breed health. Some feel strongly that there is an institutional disregard for breed health in the AKC and their parent breed clubs that should be brought to the attention of the veterinary community. Sam, Cleveland, OH Posted: 11/9/2008 11:11:18 PM