Inherited retinal diseases in dogs: advances in gene/mutation discovery.

1. Inherited retinal diseases (RDs) are vision-threatening conditions affecting humans as well as many domestic animals. Through many years of clinical studies of the domestic dog population, a wide array of RDs has been phenotypically characterized. Extensive effort to map the causative gene and to identify the underlying mutation followed. Through candidate gene, linkage analysis, genome-wide association studies, and more recently, by means of next-generation sequencing, as many as 31 mutations in 24 genes have been identified as the underlying cause for canine RDs. Most of these genes have been associated with human RDs providing opportunities to study their roles in the disease pathogenesis and in normal visual function. The canine model has also contributed in developing new treatments such as gene therapy which has been clinically applied to human patients. Meanwhile, with increasing knowledge of the molecular architecture of RDs in different subpopulations of dogs, the conventional understanding of RDs as a simple monogenic disease is beginning to change. Emerging evidence of modifiers that alters the disease outcome is complicating the interpretation of DNA tests. In this review, advances in the gene/mutation discovery approaches and the emerging genetic complexity of canine RDs are discussed.