AniSeq Veterinary Genomic Diagnostics

12/01/2022

We are currently collecting data on the burden of genetic disease and unmet needs for genetic testing in veterinary practice to help with the rollout of this service. Please fill in our survey at:

https://forms.gle/Nqf16MtK3CCNyJn76

This should take less than 5 minutes to complete, and will help develop the best possible service for vets in practice. Thank you for your help!

In humans, genetic diseases that are individually rare together add up to a substantial burden of disease in the population. Clinically, where genetic disease is suspected in a patient and a specific genetic test is not sufficient to achieve a definitive diagnosis, whole genome sequencing is commonl...

12/01/2022

Whole-genome sequencing has been transforming patient care for people with genetic diseases.

The new approach could lead to better treatments for those waiting years for answers.

12/01/2022

What does a vet do if they see a pet with a mystery illness and they suspect the cause is genetic? Or if a valuable breeding animal produces offspring with an unfortunate congenital problem - should it be bred again?

Sometimes for animals we have access to a specific test for a genetic disease, especially for breed-related diseases. But in other cases, these tests come back negative or no test is available.

In human patients, medical geneticists have the option of sequencing a patient's whole DNA sequence in such cases, to try and pin down the likely mutation responsible and optimise the patient's care. This has also been done for dogs, cats and horses in a research setting, but this service has not been readily available to clinicians in practice.

Based on research at the Roslin Institute (birthplace of Dolly the Sheep) at the University of Edinburgh, we have developed approaches to interrogate whole animal genomes for likely disease-causing mutations, and are working on rolling this out as a clinical diagnostic service to veterinarians in the UK and worldwide.

If you would like to know more, or would like to discuss the suitability of whole genome sequencing for a specific clinical case, please message us or email as at aniseq@ed.ac.uk .