The Long And The Short Of It: Evidence That FGF5 Is A Major Determinant Of Canine Hair-Itability

The study identified that the FGF5 gene played a significant role in determining hair length in dogs. Researchers found two coding region differences in the FGF5 gene between short and long-haired corgis: a duplication in a non-conserved region and a missense mutation substituting Phe for Cys in a conserved region. Genotyping 218 dogs from various breeds showed that the missense mutation was associated with hair-length differences, suggesting that FGF5 is a major determinant of hair length in dogs.