Internal seminar: Dog genomics, populations and behavioural diversification

A novel framework for understanding complex relationships among canine populations uncovers genetic drivers of dog breed behavioral diversification 

by Emily V. Dutrow and Elaine A. Ostrander, NIH

Domestic dogs have undergone intense human selection in order to perform specialized tasks, resulting in highly heritable behavioral differences across divergent breed groups. However, modeling complex genetic and phenotypic relationships among domestic dogs requires an approach that accounts for extreme variation in selective pressure across breeds, frequent population bottlenecks, admixture with free-breeding populations, and breed creation through hybridization. We present a novel dimensionality reduction framework for capturing and quantifying local and global canine genetic relationships. Using this approach, we identify genetically distinct canine lineages with unique behavioral tendencies and characterize the genomic loci driving their genetic and behavioral diversification.

The talk will be on 10th February, 3pm Danish time (9 East Coast), and will be ca 40 minutes followed by audience questions. The Zoom link can be found in there internal email sent out on the 27th.