Quote:
Originally Posted by csagan001  My premise is not wrong. It nbecessitates a basic understanding of DNA: If they can't ascertain the breed of a purebred, then nthey don't have accurate and thorough knowledge of the DNA markers inherrent in the breeds they claim that they test for.
In other words, a mixed breed's DNA is more confusing than a purebred's DNA. If they can't accurately analyze the simpler case, they can't accurately analyze the more complex case.
In my opinion the reason they say their test is not for purebreds is because they don't want their error rates to be made public. Theie "mutt requirement" is not a limitation of the science--it is protection for themselves for making false claims about what they can actually determine.
The reported results are completely bogus. |
I don't think there could be any hypothetical genetic test that would have 100% accuracy on 100% of pure-bred dogs across all breeds. To me it would vary depending on 'purity' of any given pure breed.
In my way of looking at it, the purity of any given breed, genetically speaking, is predicated on the number of generations that it has been bred pure. There are many dog breeds, some having been bred for many years and some for only a short while. For instance the Pekingese's history goes back thousands of years while the Yorkshire Terrier only goes back 150 years or so. The 'modern' Yorkie goes back even less.
Testing by using genetic markers would show the Pekingese to be 'more pure' than the Yorkshire Terrier simply due to the Pekingese, by virtue of its history, being further removed from its mixed roots (foundation stock) than the Yorkshire Terrier. So the test would more likely show the Pekingese being pure, with no markers from other breeds and the Yorkshire Terrier to be less pure with vestigal markers of its mixed roots being apparent. This would result in a pure bred Pekingese always testing more pure than a pure bred Yorkshire Terrier. You would have to presume that accuracy for any given breed would vary, depending on the age of the breed.
All the above is hypothetical and I reserve the right to be completely wrong about this
. But for the little that I've seen about it, the Mars test is basically useless information for mixed breed dog owners and would likely be wrong information for many pure bred owners. I certainly wouldn't rely on it to make any decisions regarding breeding stock. It (the test) could lead to interesting things in the future but seems to be of little practical value today.