Funding Request for the American Bouvier des Flandres Club and Bouvier Health Foundation
November 8, 2007
Breed Specific Request:
Pending Grant No. 747: The Mapping and Characterization of Mutations Responsible for Canine Glaucoma Principal Investigator(s): Elizabeth Giuliano, DVM, MS, DACVO, University of Missouri, Columbia
Sponsor(s): No Sponsors
Grant Amount: $82,080.00
Start Date: 10/1/2007
Duration (in yrs): 2
Amount Required: $41,040
Amount Requested: $10,000
Abstract: Heritable canine glaucoma destroys vision in members of several dog breeds. In a previous study, we searched for glaucoma-causing mutations in genes associated with human glaucoma without success. During that study, we accumulated DNA samples from large families of Bassett Hounds and Bouvier des Flandres and smaller families of Dandie Dinmont Terriers and Welsh Terriers. We propose to use these DNA samples and appropriate gene-mapping strategies to determine the chromosomal positions of the mutations responsible for glaucoma in Bassett Hounds and Bouvier des Flandres. We will then use the available canine genome sequence to examine the genes that are located within these chromosomal positions to find the mutations responsible for glaucoma in these two breeds. Next we will devise DNA test to validate the identified potential glaucoma-causing mutations; and, if the suspected mutations prove to be valid, we will immediately make the DNA tests available to breeders of Bassett Hounds and Bouvier des Flandres. Finally, we will determine if the genes that contain the glaucoma-causing mutations in Bassett Hounds and Bouvier des Flandres also contain glaucoma-causing mutations in Dandie Dinmont Terriers and Welsh Terriers.