mohammad fallahi - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
ali akbar masoudi - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
rasoul vaez torshizi - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

The potential trainability of dog is affected by learning and memory genes. Although some researches have been done on exploring the genes affecting learning and memory in animals, but these kinds of genes have not yet been identified in canine. The results of our previous study showed that three genes BDNF, CCK and TAC1 gene could be a strong candidate associate with learning and memory in dogs. Therefore, in this research we tried to sequence the structure of these genes in Caine. To achieve this, the behavioral characteristics of a population of 80 Belgian Malinois were evaluated using questionnaire that was based on the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Then, total DNA of the samples was isolated using salting out method from blood tissue. The target regions of these genes were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using the suitable primers. In this study, 8 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the candidate genes. Further investigation revealed that the -161 G > T mutation located in the canine TAC1 putative promoter region and affected transcription factor binding site. A statistical analysis revealed that the GG genotype at the -161G > T produced a significantly greater trainability level than that of the TT genotype (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the A (CGATAGGA) haplotype combination was significantly associated with canine trainability behavior (P < 0.001). But the results did not identify any polymorphism for the BDNF and CCK genes that can be attributed to the conservation of these genes in Canine.

Dog, Learning and Memory, Genetics, behavior