Assessing the impact of breeding strategies on inherited disorders and genetic diversity in dogs

In the context of management of genetic diversity and control of genetic disorders within dog breeds, a method is proposed for assessing the impact of different breeding strategies that takes into account the genealogical information specific to a given breed. Two types of strategies were investigated: (1) eradication of an identified monogenic recessive disorder, taking into account three different mating limitations and various initial allele frequencies; and (2) control of the population sire effect by limiting the number of offspring per reproducer. The method was tested on four dog breeds: Braque Saint Germain, Berger des Pyrénées, Coton de Tulear and Epagneul Breton. Breeding policies, such as the removal of all carriers from the reproduction pool, may have a range of effects on genetic diversity, depending on the breed and the frequency of deleterious alleles. Limiting the number of offspring per reproducer may also have a positive impact on genetic diversity.