The complete canine genome sequence, which was finished last
summer, is helping scientists to track down genes that cause
disease in both dogs and people.
"We share our genes and we share our diseases," said
Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, of the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome
Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.
Many researchers are hopeful that the dog genome will reveal
important genes behind the cancers that afflict us and our closest
companions.
Bone cancer, skin cancer, and lymphoma are among the many types
of cancers that are similar in humans and dogs.
We
share our genes and we share our diseases