Prevalence and genetics of patellar luxation in Kooiker dogs

The prevalence of patellar luxation (PL) and genetic factors potentially involved in the disorder were investigated in Dutch Kooiker dogs. A cohort of 842 Kooiker dogs, the offspring of 195 sires and 318 dams, was screened for PL from 1994 to 2011. The cohort was included in a pedigree of 1737 Kooiker dogs comprising nine generations. PL was present in 24% of screened dogs, with unilateral and bilateral luxation being observed equally frequently. Medial PL was more common (61%) than lateral PL (32%) or bidirectional PL (7%). The frequency of PL was similar in male and female dogs, with a female:male relative risk of 1.15 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.90–1.48). The heritability of PL in the screened population was 0.27 ± 0.07. Since the start of the screening programme, the prevalence of PL decreased from 28% to 19%. A genome-wide association study of PL with 48 cases and 42 controls suggested the possible involvement of a region on chromosome 3 (Praw = 1.32 × 10−5, Pgenome = 0.142), but the involvement of this region could not be confirmed in a validation group. Breeding programmes for complex diseases, such as PL, would benefit from combining pedigrees, phenotypes and genotypes, i.e. from genomic selection, as is currently the method of choice for breeding of production animals.