A very interesting threadMacha said:
zilloot said:
Then you can't have read the information provided properly; it's a genetic problem 'a mutation in the myostatin gene that increases muscle mass' which doesn't affect pedigree whippets in this country as far as I can remember.dawn said:
Moriarte I think you misinterpreted my post.moriarte said:
This is a mutation it has nothing to do with sellective breeding. Except that if you get a mutation in your breed and then line breed to to dogs carrying this particular version of the gene, you are likely to entrench it in the breed. Mutation can just happen or be caused by some environmental factor - radiation or some chemicals can cause mutations. In populations that are not inbred such mutation would rarely become expressed.alilemur said:Mutations like that are a normal result of ultra-selective breeding in any animal (not just dogs).
By "ultra selective" I just mean mating a dog from a long line of fast racers with a bitch from a long line of fast racers.
You artificially restrict any gene pool enough and things like that will always pop up.
DNA is incredibly complex, and it only takes miniscule variations in it to cause large physical changes - bear in mind that a chihuahua and a Great Dane are to all intents and purposes the same animal
I'm just surprised that phenomena like bully whippets don't happen far more often!
:thumbsup:
But in real life mutation happens on a huge scale every day, often with zero consequences. In nature it is only when mutations are advantageous to survival (ie: a black moth born to white parents is less likely to be eaten when sat on a black building) and then those mutated animals breed and pass on that code to their offspring that you notice any significant changes in a population.Thanks Miss :thumbsup:alilemur said:Yes, except the MSTN mutation in the cells of the parent dogs is neither here nor there - they are perfectly normal looking whippets, not bullies
The Yorkshire Post article even says "Their guess is that the gene concerned has made headway in the whippet population, through breeding from champion racers, to the point where it now regularly occurs in both parents"
As you say, genetic mutation happens for a number of reasons, some environmental, some completely random. Some mutations have physiological or psychological consequences, lots do not. This particular mutation in these fast whippets is inconsequential - they look and act completely normally.
As I said before, it is only by selectively breeding from them that you have a chance for a bully to be born. Bullies are not caused by DNA mutation, they are caused by selectively breeding from whippets with that mutated gene. There is a big difference.
I have taught Biology and Genetics for twelve years now, and it's still the case that students think 'mutation' and start thinking of Spiderman comics and fifty foot radioactive bugs
Bullies are not made by mutation, they are made by breeding mutated parents.
:thumbsup:
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