Why does the report show a trait result that my dog doesn’t actually express?Updated 9 months ago

Sometimes you may get a “likely to have” result for a genetic trait in your dog's Basepaws report that doesn’t quite match up with their physical appearance. In other words, their genotype (set of genes in their DNA) doesn't match up with their phenotype (how the genes are expressed and observed as traits).

This could be due to a phenomenon called epistasis. The word is composed of the prefix “epi-”, which is a Greek root that means “upon”, and “sta-”, a root meaning “to stand, or set down”. In genetics, we use the word epistasis to describe an interaction where the expression of one gene gets modified in some way, because one gene (or multiple genes) can “stand upon”, mask, suppress, or otherwise inhibit that expression (aka phenotype). 

Epistasis occurs when the observable expression (phenotype) of a gene—such as one responsible for the color of your dog's coat—gets modified in some way by a completely different gene that can mask, suppress, or inhibit how that coat color gene is expressed. With something as diverse as dog coat color and pattern, it is almost certain that there are a myriad of epistatic interactions not yet known to science.

Scientists are still learning about the many genes and gene interactions that contribute to different phenotypes, or observable traits, that dogs display. If you find a potential instance of epistasis in your dog's Basepaws report, please let us know by emailing [email protected].