Microsatellite polymorphism in intron 14 of the canine BRCA1 gene

Microsatellite polymorphism due to differences in CT dinucleotide repeats w as demonstrated in intron 14 of the canine BRCA1 gene. Genotype analysis of 103 unrelated dogs from 30 different breeds detected the presence of five alleles, including 10 of the expected 15 genotypes. Gene frequencies were b iased and all alleles with the exception of one were below 0.1. This polymo rphism, which occurs at the intron of canine BRCA1 should prove to be a use ful marker fur detecting the loss of heterozygosity (LOH). One of the more notable findings of the present study was the detection of homozygotes of r are alleles. This finding identified an accumulation of rare alleles in spe cific canine breeds and demonstrated the usefulness of this characteristic for the biological study of dog evolution.