The science links variations in the DNA to disease profiles. In DNA, a distinction can be made between animals that are healthy and animals that are a carrier or sufferer of a particular hereditary disease. The gene and position in which a mutation in the DNA has occurred and caused the hereditary disease can also be mapped. Through comparison of the symptoms of a disease with variation in the DNA, a diagnostic test is proved. This normally leads to publication in a scientific article. These articles are often based on a single breed.
All available DNA tests are described in the OMIA database (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals) by Australian professor Dr Frank Nicolas.
VHLGenetics has a wide range of DNA tests available to determine whether an animal is a carrier or sufferer of a hereditary disease. VHLGenetics therefore offers clients the option to make use of this knowledge when choosing a breeding partner for their breeding animal(s). In this way, the birth of offspring that will suffer from a hereditary disease can be avoided and animal welfare can be improved.
If the result of a DNA test suggests that an animal is a sufferer (two copies of the mutation), this is normally the basis to assume that an animal will develop the hereditary disease. If the result of a DNA test indicates that an animal is not a carrier of the mutation that causes a specific disease profile, this is not a guarantee that the animal will never develop this hereditary disease, as mutations in other parts of the DNA could occur, which cause the same disease profile.
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