Prevalence of the ABCB1 NT230[DEL4] Mutation in Different Dog Breeds in Türkiye

In this study, the presence of a 4 base pair deletion mutation (nt230[del4]) in the ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) gene was investigated in different dog breeds in Türkiye. For this aim, blood samples collected from a total of 161 dogs of 5 different breeds, including German Shepherd Dogs (GSD), Golden Retrievers (GR), Pomeranians (POM), Toy Poodles (TP), and Kangal Shepherd Dogs (KSD). Genomic DNA was isolated from blood samples using the phenol-chloroform extraction method. Then, to detect the nt230[del4] mutation in the ABCB1 gene, genomic DNA was amplified using degenerate primers via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and analysed using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The amplified PCR products were digested with a restriction enzyme, separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and genotypes were determined based on band patterns. According to the analysis results, all dogs examined were found to possess the homozygous wild-type (+/+) genotype, and no mutant allele was detected. These findings indicate that the ABCB1 gene region exhibits a monomorphic structure in the dog population included in the study. The results obtained may contribute to the identification of genetic variations that could be significant in terms of drug sensitivity in the relevant dog breeds. These findings suggest that ABCB1 gene variation may be limited in the dog population in Türkiye, implying that the genetic risk regarding drug sensitivity may be low in the relevant breeds.