Researchers in the School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a gene mutation that causes high levels of uric acid in all Dalmatian dogs and bladder stones in some Dalmatians.

With the discovery, breeders can eliminate that trait from the Dalmatian breed, and scientists gain a clue toward finding the cause of similar problems in people. The scientific journal Public Library of Science published the findings on Nov. 7.

“This defect, which in dogs is peculiar to the entire Dalmatian breed, has been reported for nearly a century and was probably unintentionally introduced as breeders worked to select more distinctive spotting patterns,” said veterinary geneticist Danika Bannasch, lead author on the study.

“It is now possible that this trait can be removed from the breed by crossing Dalmatians with the normal offspring of the original Dalmatian-pointer breeding that occurred in the early 1970s,” she said.

By Dec. 1, the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory will begin offering DNA testing for the mutation in dogs to allow breeders to eliminate the trait. Information on the testing program will be available online: vgl.ucdavis.edu.

— Pat Bailey

Read the complete story.