Genome-wide Study Identifies a Locus Associated with Atopic Dermatitis Severity in a Canine Model

Genotype data, phenotype data, and summary statistics for genome-wide association study aimed to identify loci associated with dermatitis severity in a colony of laboratory beagles validated as a model for atopic dermatitis. The study population included 41 dogs from the colony and six unrelated unaffected laboratory beagles as controls. The overall severity for each dog was determined by evaluating flare severity at the peak of a standardized allergen challenge using the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-03). Genotyping was performed using the Illumina 230K CanineHD BeadChip array. CADESI-03 scores from the 47 dogs were transformed from a scale of zero to three to a scale of one to four by adding one to each score. Excluding values of zero prevents scores from being mistaken as missing phenotypes, commonly defined by -9 or zero in Plink.