Stage 2

Stage 2 Research WGS - Whole Genome Sequencing

Having located a possible chromosomal segment containing the Whitehead variant/markers in stage 1 research we moved ahead into the 2nd stage of WGS to identify the precise mutation.
WGS usually comes with a cost of approximately $1,000/US per test. Using only the WGS method for research typically requires 10 dog samples for a total of $10,000/US, however as we already had a possible candidate chromosome to focus on we were hopeful that only 2 - 4 dog samples were needed.

The first 2 sequences were gifted to our research by Marco Milanesi, PhD who had a credit with "DNA Link Sequencing Lab" in South Korea.

The costs involved for these first two sequencings were only for blood draws and cooled overnight shipping to the lab and DNA extraction.
The actual testing at the lab - Sample Prep, Cluster Generation and Sequencing came at no cost which was a wonderful gift!

This video will explain the process of WGS - https://youtu.be/fCd6B5HRaZ8

Finn - Border Collie - ownerJen Schwarz
and
Clover - Old English Sheepdog - owner Ciarán Williamson
were the first 2 dogs to be sequenced.

Many thanks to their owners for arranging vet appointments for blood draws and cooled shipping.
(In Clover's case there were 4 trips to the vet! The first draw did not pass quality control and were deemed too degraded to be used. The second samples were lost by the shipping company and showed up 1 week later, the third was spun down by a vet tech which rendered the samples unusable and the fourth arrived safe and sound and passed quality control.
NOTE: Clover did not mind at all as it meant a puppuccino from Starbuck's every time! lol))

WGS from Finn, Clover and a Border Collie from the public repository were compared to a solid Yorkshire Terrier but unfortunately no conclusion could be reached.