Dr. Cindy does our Biewer profiles, lets do a profile on Dr. Cindy.
Dr. Cindy Harper completed her BVSc degree in 1993 and spent a year in private, small animal, practice before returning to Onderstepoort to complete her MSc degree in Veterinary Parasitology in 1998. She joined the Equine Research Centre in 1999 and became involved in horse identification systems at the time when the transition occurred from blood typing, as the horse identification and parentage testing method, to DNA typing. During the past 10 years that she has been involved in this field, she has developed a passion for veterinary genetics and particularly the application of the latest technology and test methods to meet the needs of the veterinary profession and animal breeders, to ensure that their pedigrees are sound, advise them on the effects of inbreeding and the use of selective breeding to reduce the incidence of offspring affected by genetic based diseases and breeding for specific valuable traits. Dog breeders are particularly fortunate in that the dog represents a good model for the study of human genetic conditions and the expansion of knowledge of the genetic conditions of the dog is, therefore, very rapid. Genetics now drives most other biological disciplines including vaccine production, pharmacology, immunology, parasitology and clinical medicine and is the most rapidly developing and expanding science. We are privileged to have Dr. Cindy Harper on our bytcsa team who plays a major part in its application and the contribution that it can make to improve the wellbeing of animals and particularly in the Biewers in the future.
Dr. Cindy Harper gives a thumb’s up.
Genetic testing in
South Africa
The Veterinary Genetics laboratory at the Onderstepoort Faculty of Veterinary Science (OPVGL) is responsible for the DNA profiling of the Biewer Terrier in
South Africa. The laboratory is a member of the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) and participates in an international comparison test every two years. In the test various laboratories that do dog DNA testing, compare and standardize their tests and results, ensuring that the highest international standards and most current technology is applies at the laboratory. During the last comparison test in 2008, a total of 40 international labs took part and agreed on a minimum set of DNA markers for dog genotyping. These markers are used to create a unique profile of each dog that provides a means of individual identification and a validation of the pedigree of the dog when comparing this profile to the profiles of its parents.
In case of the Biewer, the individual unique DNA profile is obtained from a blood sample or buccal swab sample of the animal. This profile or ‘DNA fingerprint’ is stored in a database at the OPCVGL. All Biewer pups are tested and their pedigrees verified by comparing their DNA profiles to those of their parents that are already on the database. This ensures that registered Biewers are only from Biewer to Biewer matings, thus maintaining the integrity of the local Biewer studbook.
DNA certificates from labs belonging to ISAG, containing the profiling information of each dog, can also be exchanged between these labs internationally ensuring that the individual identity of exported dogs can be verified in the importing country. DNA samples of each dog are stored at the OPVGL and can be used in future for breed specific genetic testing, as these tests become available.
It can also be used by the OPVGL in the local development of breed specific genetic tests if any underlying genetic problems become apparent in the breed in future. A complete DNA sample set of a breed or pedigree is an extremely valuable resource for future use as technology improves and genome information of the dog increases. The Biewer, as a new breed in SA, is setting an example to other dog breeds by making use of this resource from the start.
Dr Cindy Harper, Veterinary Genetics
Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of
Pretoria
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