Fatores genéticos na síndrome braquicefálica canina

Abstract

Brachycephalic syndrome is a set of congenital malformations associated with skull enlargement and shortened snouts in dogs. The main cause of this syndrome is the phenotypic selection made aimingat short-snouted dogs, initially for hunting and fighting and more recently to meet an aesthetic objective associated with modern breed standards. This study aimed to present a review of the main traits associated with brachycephalic syndrome, and diseases that affect syndromic animals and to present the state of the art of genetic research in this area. Diseases such as stenosis of the nostrils, elongated soft palate, tracheal hypoplasia, eversion of the laryngeal sacs, and collapse of the larynx/trachea are common in brachycephalic dogs and are associated with respiratory and thermoregulation difficulties in these animals. Although the syndrome has a complex origin, with significant influence from the environment and a large number of genes involved, genomic association studies have located genes with main effects associated with the morphogenesis of the tissues involved and susceptible to selection to reduce the intensity of the phenotype. It is expected that soon measures associated with the selection of animals will be adopted that reduce the incidence of diseases associated with brachycephalic syndrome, improving the health and welfare of animals.