Genetic variants associated with human-directed hyper-social behavior in domestic dogs

摘要

Disclosed herein are structural variants in the Williams-Beuren Syndrome locuse of the dog genome that are associated with hyper-social behavior in dogs relative to wolves, and that are informative regarding the nature of social behavior in dogs. Disclosed also is a commercial test with these loci as indicators along the spectrum of sociality. Methods of breeding dogs to select for dogs having increased sociability are also disclosed.