This is especially important for breeders, greyhound or otherwise, who want the credibility of having a fool-proof genetic identifier for their dogs. The DNA fingerprinting system also gives researchers a better understanding of the Major Histocompatability Complex, which is the gene responsible for immune system function and reproduction. In the future, breeders may be able to determine the degree of inbreeding that a certain population has. Breeders could then select a mate to produce more reproductively fit offspring. The lab has also investigated kennel cough, a highly contagious airborne bacterial infection that causes intense coughing and occasionally life-threatening pneumonia in dogs.
Dogs suffer greatly because of the infection.
Breeders, veterinarians and other people who shelter dogs also suffer because the disease is spread so quickly. Fenwick explains that studying kennel cough could help researchers understand the infection's human cousin, whooping cough. The greyhound research has helped K-State to improve the canine vaccine. Finally, the greyhound research in Fenwick's lab helped understand the pathogenesis, or cause, of Alabama rot. This mysterious disease afflicted racing dogs with ugly skin lesions and eventual kidney failure.