Evolution and breeding have created a wide range of ear lengths in our canine companions.Credit: Getty
A gene important for human hearing could determine whether a dog’s ears are droopy like a basset hound’s or short like a Rottweiler’s, according to a genetic analysis of more than 3,000 dogs, wolves and coyotes.
The study, presented January 11 at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, California, found that DNA variants near a gene called MSRB3 It is related to ear length in dogs. The results were also published in December Scientific reports1.
Scratching and itching
The project was inspired by Cobain, a sociable nine-year-old American bulldog, whose hobbies include morning swims in a local creek and following people from room to room. One day, Anna Ramey, a college student working in the canine genetics lab at the University of Georgia in Athens, looked at her dog Cobain’s long, floppy ears and wondered: Why?
Canine family tree reveals hidden history of canine diversity
She posed the question to her colleagues, and the project was born. “We realized that people had studied ear structure before — like upright, pointed ears versus floppy, dropped ears,” says Tori Rudolph, a geneticist in the lab. “But no one has looked at ear length in dogs.”
The length and bearing of dogs’ ears varies greatly from one breed to another. Some of this evolved naturally: short, upright ears are thought to lose less heat than long, drooping ones, and canines from cold climates tend to have smaller ears than those hailing from warm regions.
But selective breeding also contributed to the formation of dogs’ ears. The Basset Hound’s long ears are said to enhance hunting sharpness by spreading scents toward his nose, while the German Shepherd’s straight ears may slightly enhance his hearing.