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Originally Posted by tricia208  A geneticist with University of Texas informed me of some interesting genetic facts about the Yorkie. One comment really caught my attention -- In comparison to all other AKC recognized breeds the Yorkshire terrier has the greatest amount of variant genetic material. I believe it is the white Boxer that has the least amount of variant genetic material but we will leave that to the Boxer Talk Forum to discuss. The full list of dogs was made up of all AKC recognized breeds. So the Boxer is No. 1 on the list and the Yorkie is the very last breed. (Disclaimer: the list will change over time with new developments in science and more research. This information was told to me and current in ~October 2012.)
I understood this to mean in a large group of genetically tested Yorkshire terriers -- less than 70% of the genetic make up would match the other Yorkies tested. Variant genetic material consists mostly of the traits breeders do not want in a Yorkie. Is it true that the Yorkshire terrier has the greatest amount of variant genetic material compared to all other AKC recognized breeds?
Did I understand the meaning of variant genetic material?
Unfortunately, I have business degree and not a science degree. The science side of my brain does not work as well as the business side. Fortunately, I have friends that are vet professors and geneticists that will spoon feed and translate information for me. With that said, I learned the hard way that purchasing, owning and breeding dogs requires some level of study in genetics. While I believed that I did my homework, research and due diligence I have two dogs with health issues, one being very serious.
If this information is true that would be another reason that Yorkshire terrier breeders have a greater responsibility to breed to the standard since the goal should be to lower the percentage of variant genetic material.
Thanks you to all of you that share information to improve the health and quality of this breed in a respectful, informative manner. |
Hi, and welcome to YT. I found your post about what a UT geneticist told you about the Yorkie having the greatest variant genetic material provocative and will be fascinated to follow the answers! Do you know what studies or source documents the geneticist was using on which his/her statement is based?