Association of polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene and the activity-impulsivity endophenotype in dogs

Hejjas, K. and Vas, Judit and Topál, József and Szántai, Eszter and Rónai, Zsolt and Székely, Anna and Kubinyi, Enikő and Sasvári-Székely, Mária and Miklósi, Ádám (2007) Association of polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene and the activity-impulsivity endophenotype in dogs. ANIMAL GENETICS, 38 (6). pp. 629-633. ISSN 0268-9146

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Abstract

A variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in exon 3 of the human dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Rodents possess no analogous repeat sequence, whereas a similar tandem repeat polymorphism of the DRD4 gene was identified in dogs, horses and chimpanzees. Here, we present a genetic association study of the DRD4 VNTR and the activity-impulsivity dimension of the recently validated dog-ADHD Rating Scale. To avoid false positives arising from population stratification, a single breed of dogs (German shepherd) was studied. Two DRD4 alleles (referred to as 2 and 3a) were detected in this breed, and genotype frequencies were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. For modelling distinct environmental conditions, �pet� and �police� German shepherds were characterized. Police German shepherds possessing at least one 3a allele showed significantly higher scores in the activity-impulsivity dimension of the dog-ADHD Rating Scale than dogs without this allele (P ¼ 0.0180). This difference was not significant in pet German shepherds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between a candidate gene and a behaviour trait in dogs, and it reinforces the functional role of DRD4 exon 3 polymorphism.

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