Elaine
08-27-2008, 08:21 AM
Epigenetics (quoted in part from Wikipedia)
In biology, the term epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression. These changes may remain through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life. Sometimes the changes last for multiple generations. However, there is no change in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism, instead, environmental factors cause the organism's genes to behave (or "express themselves") differently.
All of us who are passionate about dogs, be it Dobermans or any other breed, connect to this fundamental truth... we will all benefit from a better understanding of how unwanted health disorders are transmitted. As of 2008 we simply do not have the scientific answers we need to guide us to avoid transmitting certain health conditions (e.g. DCM). In our vacuum of “urgent need to understand a disorder” we have people who push for one form of treatment or procedure after another, as though their machine / service / alleged expertise offered some substantive help. Some even profit by tying our fears with their product or service. And others thump their chest, proudly proclaiming they have done this or that test... as though that test were predictive of what a dog will or will not transmit. Againg DCM comes to mind.
I am not sure what I find more offensive, people’s smug sanctimonious ignorance or the disease itself.
We probably can all connect to the desperation one feels when an animal is sick. In our desperation and despair, we seek answers that simply are not out there. Owners become victims of the veterinary profession, that appears to be reluctant to confess its limitations. Owners can easily spend thousand of dollars in veterinary services, chasing around for answers that are simply not out there. Many of us know the harsh reality of spending thousands on diagnosis and “treatment” from supposed veterinary experts, and leading veterinary medical schools... and being absolutely no where. I think people assume that there is parity between research in human medicine and research in veterinary medicine. That is decidedly not true. There is not now, and was never the funding for canine research that breeders need to guide them to avoid transmitting certain health conditions.
We need to fund research that focuses on the concerns of breeders. Do you realize what a huge hurdle that is now a days? Almost universally, from PETA and the animal rights folks - to mandatory spay neuter programs embraced by the veterinary profession, there is no interest or will to advance the concerns of dog breeders. Heck, canine reproduction is not even a specialty in veterinary medicine... why would it be? Dog breeders are the source of all evil. We are the reason animals have genetic disorders and we are the reason animals die in shelters. Who would fund lengthy expensive research to assist us “evil breeders” to breed better healthier dogs... when breeding is evil to begin with.
Which brings me back to epigenetics and the role environmental factors play in the expression of genes, altering gene expression even for generations. Epigenetics accounts for why one identical twin gets a terminal cancer and the other twin remains cancer free.
Seems to me that in addition to understanding how a disorder is transmitted, we need to understand why the gene is expressed in some dogs and not in other genetically identical dogs. For example, in Dobermans, we may not be able to eliminate the genes involved in the transmission of DCM (which may be linked to desired characteristics we want to preserve), but we may be able to inhibit the expression of DCM. But that would involve well funded research designed with the interests of breeders in mind... and we don't have that.
In biology, the term epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression. These changes may remain through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life. Sometimes the changes last for multiple generations. However, there is no change in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism, instead, environmental factors cause the organism's genes to behave (or "express themselves") differently.
All of us who are passionate about dogs, be it Dobermans or any other breed, connect to this fundamental truth... we will all benefit from a better understanding of how unwanted health disorders are transmitted. As of 2008 we simply do not have the scientific answers we need to guide us to avoid transmitting certain health conditions (e.g. DCM). In our vacuum of “urgent need to understand a disorder” we have people who push for one form of treatment or procedure after another, as though their machine / service / alleged expertise offered some substantive help. Some even profit by tying our fears with their product or service. And others thump their chest, proudly proclaiming they have done this or that test... as though that test were predictive of what a dog will or will not transmit. Againg DCM comes to mind.
I am not sure what I find more offensive, people’s smug sanctimonious ignorance or the disease itself.
We probably can all connect to the desperation one feels when an animal is sick. In our desperation and despair, we seek answers that simply are not out there. Owners become victims of the veterinary profession, that appears to be reluctant to confess its limitations. Owners can easily spend thousand of dollars in veterinary services, chasing around for answers that are simply not out there. Many of us know the harsh reality of spending thousands on diagnosis and “treatment” from supposed veterinary experts, and leading veterinary medical schools... and being absolutely no where. I think people assume that there is parity between research in human medicine and research in veterinary medicine. That is decidedly not true. There is not now, and was never the funding for canine research that breeders need to guide them to avoid transmitting certain health conditions.
We need to fund research that focuses on the concerns of breeders. Do you realize what a huge hurdle that is now a days? Almost universally, from PETA and the animal rights folks - to mandatory spay neuter programs embraced by the veterinary profession, there is no interest or will to advance the concerns of dog breeders. Heck, canine reproduction is not even a specialty in veterinary medicine... why would it be? Dog breeders are the source of all evil. We are the reason animals have genetic disorders and we are the reason animals die in shelters. Who would fund lengthy expensive research to assist us “evil breeders” to breed better healthier dogs... when breeding is evil to begin with.
Which brings me back to epigenetics and the role environmental factors play in the expression of genes, altering gene expression even for generations. Epigenetics accounts for why one identical twin gets a terminal cancer and the other twin remains cancer free.
Seems to me that in addition to understanding how a disorder is transmitted, we need to understand why the gene is expressed in some dogs and not in other genetically identical dogs. For example, in Dobermans, we may not be able to eliminate the genes involved in the transmission of DCM (which may be linked to desired characteristics we want to preserve), but we may be able to inhibit the expression of DCM. But that would involve well funded research designed with the interests of breeders in mind... and we don't have that.