Lineage classification of canine inheritable disorders using mitochondrial DNA haplotypes.

To estimate the maternal effects of dog breeds using mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) haplotypes in the dogs with several clinical disorders, 600 base pairs of mtDNA D-loop region were amplified from 365 dogs and were determined for mtDNA sequences. The diversity of the 600-bp sequences was classified into 64 haplotypes, including 46 newly discovered haplotypes, and the haplotypes were grouped into four clusters I to IV. Lineage analysis using the mtDNA haplotype indicated that each dog breed genetically comprises one or a few mtDNA haplotypes. When the relationship between genetic background and occurrences of clinical diseases was estimated, canine lineage analysis using mtDNA haplotype revealed that the disorders distributed in the dominant mtDNA haplotypes of each dog breed, but no disorder closely associated with mtDNA haplotypes was detected.