Currently, there are limited animal models to provide insight into genetic underpinnings of social behaviors and the often comorbid inattention/hyperactivity behaviors observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Social interactive behaviors between domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and humans have been well documented experimentally. Additionally, owner reports of social and attention/activity behaviors have been used to characterize variability in naturally occurring dog behaviors that are homologous to those relevant to ASDs. It has been hypothesized that a limited subset of wild canids originally displayed the social characteristics necessary to interact with humans, ultimately resulting in domestication.
Objectives:
Determine whether there would be an overlapping set of genes associated with social behaviors and attention/activity behaviors in domestic dogs.
Methods:
We asked owners of 14 dogs (1 Basset Hound, 1 Black Russian Terrier, 2 Dalmatians, 1 Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, 7 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, and 2 mixed breed dogs) to complete surveys comprising owner report of social and attention/activity behaviors observed in their dogs. Social behaviors subscales 1) initiation of reciprocal social behaviors (INIT), 2) response to social interactions with humans (RSPNS), and 3) communication with humans (COMM); as well as attention (ATT) and activity (ACT) subscales were derived from responses using factor analysis. Genome-wide SNP data for these dogs was generated using 127K Affymetrix canine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Using subscales as input, we performed genome-wide quantitative trait association to determine SNPs associated with each subscale.
Results:
Overlapping SNPs associated with both a social subscale and either an attention or activity subscale were identified. Most SNPs corresponded to genes or regions homologous to those in humans associated with autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
These findings contribute to the validity of the domestic dog as an animal model to investigate overlap in genetic backgrounds of social and attention/activity behaviors.