Dog articles from across Nature Portfolio

Heather Gardner et al. report the genomic landscape of canine osteosarcoma, finding recurrent mutations in the histone methyltransferase gene SETD2 and in DMD, the gene encoding dystrophin. The results support the study of naturally-occurring osteosarcoma in dogs for understanding both human disease mechanisms and canine-specific alterations to identify new treatments.

Osteoarthritis occurs spontaneously in pet dogs, which often share environmental and lifestyle risk-factors with their owners. This Review aims to stimulate cooperation between medical and veterinary research under the One Medicine initiative to improve the welfare of dogs and humans.

Despite being a single species, dogs represent nearly 400 breeds with substantial genetic, morphological and behavioural diversity. In this Review, Ostranderet al. discuss how genomics studies of dogs have enhanced our understanding of dog and human population history, the desired and unintended consequences of trait-based selective breeding, and potentially human-applicable insights into cancer, ageing, behaviour and neurological diseases.

An extensive genome-wide survey of over 48,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in dogs and their wild progenitor, the grey wolf, was conducted to shed light on the process of dog diversification. The results reveal that much of genome diversity came from Middle Eastern progenitors, combined with interbreeding with local wolf populations, and that recent evolution involved limited genetic variation to create the phenotypic diversity of modern dogs.