You have a dog ? It was written in your genes!

Cynophiles, know that your love of dogs is surely genetic! A team of Swedish and British researchers has studied the probability that this characteristic is transmitted in a hereditary way by genetic factors. For this, the scientists analyzed the genetic heritage of pairs of twins and their behavior (ie whether or not they owned a dog). The results have just been published in Scientific Reports.

Dogs were the first animal to be domesticated and their close ties to humans date back over 15,000 years. They are recognized today for their positive impact on the well-being and health of their owners. The objective of this study was therefore to determine whether this desire to own a dog was a hereditary characteristic. It was carried out using data from the Swedish Twins Registry, the largest database of its kind in the world.

The study of twins is a well-known method for differentiating between the influence of the environment and that of genes in our biology and our behaviors. Since identical twins have an identical genome and fraternal twins share on average only half of their genome, comparisons of matches within these pairs can reveal whether genetics play a role in ownership. or not of a dog. The researchers found that the concordance within identical twin pairs (i.e. both twins owned a dog) was much higher than among fraternal twins. This supports the theory that genetics plays a major role in deciding whether or not to own a dog.

Environment and genetics play nearly equal roles

“We were surprised to discover that a person’s genetic heritage seems to have a significant influence in the choice of owning or not owning a dog. These results will have a major impact in different areas related to understanding the interactions between humans and dogs throughout history Even though dogs and other companion animals have become full members of some households, little is still known about how they influence our daily lives and our health. Some people may have a greater inner propensity to care for a dog,” says Tove Fall, lead author of the study and professor of molecular epidemiology at Uppsala University.

“This type of study does not make it possible to know which genes exactly are involved, but it does at least make it possible to demonstrate for the first time that the environment and genetics play almost equal roles in the choice of owner of a dog. The next step is obviously to identify which genetic variants affect this choice and how they interact with other factors such as personality or allergies”, also explains Patrick Magnusson, co-author of the study and associate professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Instituet and director of the Swedish Twins Registry.