We have the know-how and the technology to decode this information – whether for horses with their largely open studbooks or dogs, where pronounced inbreeding, often unknown origins and short generation intervals are the norm. We have the right approach.
Every animal carries the traces of its origins in its genome.
In a breed analysis we make these traces visible – traces that cannot be read from outward appearance alone: which breeds and breed groups are present in the analysed animal, and how this composition can be interpreted.
Whether a particular breed name actually defines a genetically distinct population depends on the species and the breeding history of the breed:
When studbooks are kept closed over generations, breeds develop a distinct composition that is characteristic of the breed. They can then be clearly separated from one another and determined proportionally in a mixed-breed or hybrid animal – typical of many dog breeds, but there are only a few distinct breeds in horses.
Where deliberate crossbreeding is the norm, characteristic mosaics of the genomes of neighbouring breeds arise, which are then recognisable as distinct breed groups. Breed groups are typical of horses with their open or semi-open studbooks.
The deliberate mating to produce hybrids aims to combine the traits of both breeds and/or to achieve a heterosis effect. Hybrid breeding is increasingly popular in dogs and has long been common in livestock. True hybrids are always only the direct offspring (F1 generation).
Mixed breeds arise from uncontrolled matings over several generations (dogs) or as the result of an individual breeding strategy. Since many hereditary diseases are breed-specific, the breed analysis provides an initial indication of what to watch out for.
A breed analysis cannot be achieved with just a few markers that may be characteristic of individual breeds. Sound results rely on high-resolution SNP arrays – also called SNP chips. They allow tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of positions in the genome to be read out in parallel; only this resolution delivers the pattern realised in the genome of the analysed animal, with which breeds can be reliably separated from one another and even small proportions in mixed breeds can be detected.
Schematic representation of an SNP chip: outwardly similar to a microscope slide, a chip can carry hundreds of thousands of markers – each dot represents a measurable signal that is characteristic of the respective breed.
