Testing of dogs: Panda White Spotting

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Usual turnaround time: 10 business days
1 test price: 56.00 $ without VAT

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Panda White Spotting

The amount of white spotting in dogs varies from tiny white spots to completely white animals. White spots indicate the absence of melanocytes in the hair follicles or skin, not a failure of the biochemical reactions required for pigment synthesis.

There are several mutations that cause white patches in dogs. There have been discovered four mutations in the MITF gene (https://www.genomia.cz/cz/test/spotting/), other mutations are related to the KIT gene and it is thought that more mutations are yet to be discovered. While the MITF gene encodes a transcription factor controlling melanocyte development and migration, KIT is a tyrosine kinase receptor gene with several functions, including its role in melanin production.

Genomia offers a genetic test to detect mutations in the KIT gene (c.140_141insA). This is a 1bp adenine insertion that leads to a reading frame shift. Premature introduction of the stop codon causes truncation of the resulting protein and its dysfunction. Inheritance of the mutation is autosomal dominant. This means that one copy of the mutated gene inherited from either parent is sufficient to cause white spots. This mutation in the KIT gene results in the colouration known as "white panda" in German Shepherds. Heterozygous dogs do not have any health problems associated with this pattern; however, in affected homozygotes the Panda mutation is considered an early embryonic lethal.

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Reference:

Wong, A.K., Ruhe, A.L., Robertson, K.R., Loew, E.R., Williams, D.C., Neff, M.W. : A de novo mutation in KIT causes white spotting in a subpopulation of German Shepherd dogs. Anim Genet 44:305-10, 2013. Pubmed reference: 23134432.

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Usual turnaround time: 10 business days
1 test price: 56.00 $ without VAT