Heritability of lenticular myopia in English Springer spaniels

Melissa A. Kubai, Amber L. Labelle, Ralph E. Hamor, Donald O. Mutti, Thomas R. Famula, Christopher J. Murphy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose. We determined whether naturally-occurring lenticular myopia in English Springer spaniels (ESS) has a genetic component. Methods. Streak retinoscopy was performed on 226 related ESS 30 minutes after the onset of pharmacologic mydriasis and cycloplegia. A pedigree was constructed to determine relationships between affected offspring and parents. Estimation of heritability was done in a Bayesian analysis (facilitated by the MCMCglmm package of R) of refractive error in a model, including terms for sex and coat color. Myopia was defined as ≤-0.5 diopters (D) spherical equivalent. Results. The median refractive error for ESS was 0.25 D (range, -3.5 to +4.5 D). Median age was 0.2 years (range, 0.1-15 years). The prevalence of myopia in related ESS was 19% (42/226). The ESS had a strong correlation (r = 0.95) for refractive error between the two eyes. Moderate heritability was present for refractive error with a mean value of 0.29 (95% highest probability density, 0.07-0.50). Conclusions. The distribution of refractive error, and subsequently lenticular myopia, has a moderate genetic component in ESS. Further investigation of genes responsible for regulation of the development of refractive ocular components in canines is warranted.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)7324-7328
Number of pages5
JournalInvestigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Volume54
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 26 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • English Springer spaniel
  • Heritability
  • Lenticular myopia
  • Refractive error

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology
  • Sensory Systems
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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