Understanding the testing and how we use it

SPAID testing is a linkage test. It is a useful health tool for breeders, but it is not a guarantee certificate for life.

This testing is something that is being taken up by more and more breeders every year, as breeders we are using this testing to improve on the parents we use for our breeding program . SPAID will take many many years to breed out of the dogs in the world and as long as we are all striving to do better we will over time be breeding from dogs that do not carrier any risk to this disease . This testing is carried out overseas as currently there are no labs doing testing in Australia

What is the basic principle of genetic linkage analysis?
Linkage analysis is based on identifying recombination events between genetic markers and trait loci and inferring whether a trait and marker alleles are traveling in close proximity on the same chromosome or are further away or on different chromosomes.
This testing we use  looks for the mutation MTBP:g.19383758G>A. This is located at position 69870 of Sequence id 1 or position 2623 of Sequence id 2.

Sequence 1 is the genomic sequence & sequence 2 is the cDNA sequence.

The test sample is obtained either by the owner or by a vet and can be taken by Bucal Swab or EDTA Blood sample (the latter must be obtained by a vet). There are three possible test results:The SPAID test identifies Shar-Pei most likely to be affected by SPAID during their lifetime. The assay provides an estimate of an individual’s increased risk to develop SPAID symptoms.

The assay may be used to determine the genotype of a dog of breeding age to inform decisions about potential breeding partners aiming to decrease the number of offspring at increased risk of experiencing SPAID symptoms.The result can be used by owners two-fold: i) as a health tool to suggest a dog should be watched more carefully for signs of SPAID and ii) as a breeding tool with the aim of reducing the presence of SPAID in the worldwide Shar-Pei population.

The 3 Different ways you will see the results writen , It has been scientifically proven that both testing methods are reliable tests

Group SPAID Test Result Outcome Explanation
Non Carrier CNV = 2
n/n   or N/N
Not expected to suffer SPAID
  • The dog does not carry the variant associated with SPAID (i.e. allele 5).
  • The dog has no increased risk of disease
Single Carrier CNV = 6
N/n or S/N
Potential to suffer SPAID
  • The dog carries one copy of the variant associated with SPAID .
  • This dog is four times more likely to suffer SPAID than a non-carrier.
  • If bred with another Single Carrier, there is a 1 in 4 chance that a Double Carrier could result from the mating.
Double Carrier CNV = 10
N/N or S/S
A much higher potential to suffer SPAID
  • The dog carries two copies of the allele associated with SPAID (i.e. allele 5).
  • This dog is eight times more likely to suffer SPAID than a non-carrier and is more  likely to suffer SPAID during their lifetime.