You know your dog’s favorite toy, their best friend, and their preferred spot to pee. You understand the meaning of each head tilt and tail wag, their mood based on sleeping position, and the fact that they adore apples but absolutely detest pears. But do you know your pup on a molecular level?
Wisdom Panel™ is one of the leading pet DNA tests on the market, and provides dog parents with utterly fascinating, shockingly accurate insight into the true individuals that their pups are. What can you learn from a cheek swab? That your mixed breed muffin is 16% Staffordshire Terrier and 9% Anatolian Shepherd is just the tip of the iceberg.
You can access genetic health tests, which let you know what conditions they may be predisposed to, as well as a suggested ideal weight range based on your dog’s breed and genetic info. Wisdom Panel can even pinpoint precisely what your pup looks like, just by peeking at their genes! By providing insight that’s both fun and functional, Wisdom Panel enables dog parents to best support their pup’s nutritional, enrichment, and unique personality needs.
Nom Nom sat down with Wisdom Panel’s scientists to further discuss what DNA says about dogs.
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CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THE PROCESS OF HOW WISDOM PANEL ANALYZES DNA?
Once we get the pet’s DNA, that’s when the science starts! Our labs are CLIA-certified, which means each sample is handled with human-grade equipment. Once received, the sample undergoes an automated process to extract DNA from the pet’s cheek cells. We then evaluate genetic variants in the pet’s DNA (AKA genotyping) using our species-specific custom Illumina Infinium microarray platform. Afterwhich, we screen their sample against the world’s largest breed database using our proprietary breed detection system and use a bioinformatics program to identify the pet’s traits and risks for certain diseases.
If you want to be more technical: To get things started, the DNA sample undergoes a process called whole genome amplification to make more copies. The amplified DNA is then washed over a microarray chip which contains specific probes that the DNA can bind to, and it’s this step which allows us to determine the pet’s genetic code at special places in the DNA that are known to differ between dogs, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). For each dog, we test 100 thousand different variants using our custom Illumina Infinium XT microarray platform to build a very detailed picture of the dog’s genotype. This unique genotype can then be used to determine breed background, genetic relatives, health predispositions, and more!
WHAT SETS WISDOM PANEL APART FROM OTHER PET DNA COMPANIES IN TERMS OF ACCURACY & RELIABILITY?
To accurately detect a dog’s breed mix, you need three things: (1) the ability to collect data at key locations (variants) across the dog’s genome, (2) a sizeable reference database of genetic samples from verified breeds, and (3) a sophisticated set of algorithms to process all the data and make ancestry classifications. Thanks to 20+ years of collecting high-quality genetic samples from across the globe, we’ve long had the world’s largest breed database of samples with known breed backgrounds! This, along with a custom-curated set of algorithms and analysis of 40x more genetic data points per sample, makes our proprietary dog breed detection system the world’s most accurate.
In addition, our genetic health results are >99.99% accurate, thanks to a highly accurate microarray platform and quality control guidelines similar to those used by human genetics testing companies.
HOW COMPREHENSIVE IS THE BREED DATABASE USED BY WISDOM PANEL? HOW TO YOU ENSURE ACCURACY IN IDENTIFYING MIXED BREED DOGS?
After 20+ years of collecting high-quality genetic samples from across the globe, we’ve long had the world’s largest breed database - now with >27,000 samples with known breed background, and it only continues to grow! That’s because as science and technology advances, so do we at Wisdom.
For a recent example, in September of 2023, the breed classification system received an update to boost its already highly accurate breed prediction ability. With this update, 17 new breeds were included – increasing our dog breed library to over 365 – and 6,000 more dogs were added to what is already the world’s largest breed reference panel – increasing the Wisdom database by 35%.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GENETIC TESTING FOR DOG HEALTH & BEHAVIOR?
While fun and informative, there’s more to pet DNA testing than just learning about your pup’s breed background. We can screen a dog for over 265 genetic health markers and over 50 physical traits - some of which can also impact the health of the dog! And this number will only continue to grow as we continue to learn more about our canine companions.
These genetic insights allow for a more proactive and precise care plan to be made for the dog, no matter their age.
WHAT KIND OF INSIGHT CAN DOG PARENTS GAIN FROM THE GENETIC HEALTH SCREENING OFFERED BY WISDOM PANEL?
Wisdom Panel screening can reveal genetic conditions associated with bleeding tendencies (including von Willebrand’s Disease) and medication sensitivity (MDR1), as well as disorders related to vision, weight, mobility, and much more.
CAN YOU SHARE ANY SUCCESS STORIES OR TESTIMONIALS FROM DOG PARENTS WHO HAVE USED YOUR SERVICES?
Hannah and Austin learned that their dog Frank has the POMC genetic mutation which makes him likely to overeat. They now are careful about portion sizes and ensure he gets the right exercise.
Jess found out that her cat Reya has an MDR1 gene mutation. She was able to give this info to her vet and they were able to adjust her cat’s medications for her spay surgery.
We also see many relative reunion stories. Here are a few:
HOW OFTEN SHOULD DOG PARENTS CONSIDER RETESTING THEIR DOG’S DNA AS THE DATABASE & TECHNOLOGY EVOLVE?
Your dog’s DNA doesn’t change but science and technology sure does! Updates to the report can be made if the technology is the same as when your dog was originally tested. However, every so often we need to upgrade the technology and, thus, will need a new DNA sample to glean the most up to date information. So it might be worth checking in every few years to see what new information retesting can offer.
CAN WISDOM PANEL IDENTIFY SPECIFIC GENETIC MARKERS RELATED TO POTENTIAL HEALTH ISSUES IN CERTAIN BREEDS, & IF SO, HOW CAN THIS INFORMATION BENEFIT DOG PARENTS & VETERINARIANS?
Yes, some of our genetic health variants are considered breed specific, meaning that variant has only been clinically validated within that particular breed of dog. How the variant may be expressed in other breed types (or even mixed breed dogs) may not be well understood without additional research. We try to make this clear within the health report if the clinical significance is unknown for a detected variant given the dog’s ancestry.
And this is actually one of the beauties of panel testing! With each test, pet parents and veterinarians are helping conduct the largest ongoing pet genetics research project! That’s because Wisdom is committed to furthering the understanding of our dogs and cats by performing and collaborating on research studies, including clinical validation studies.
HOW DOES WISDOM PANEL SUPPORT ONGOING RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF CANINE GENETICS?
Wisdom Panel continuously pushes the boundary of dog and cat genetics by participating in collaborations with researchers from around the globe, as well as performing independent studies using our own extensive database. Recent examples include:
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Association of FGF4L1 Retrogene Insertion with Prolapsed Gland of the Nictitans (Cherry Eye) in Dogs
And, most notably, in recent years we have published the largest canine genomic and the largest feline genomic studies in the world!
WHAT PLANS DOES WISDOM PANEL HAVE FOR THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF EXPANDING ITS SERVICES OR ENHANCING ITS TECHNOLOGY?
We are continually evolving our products and looking to add features to bring even more value to our customers. We have some exciting things on the road map but we can’t share just yet!
