I saw this come up on another list and thought I would post it here
as well for info.
Jacq

Proposal
ANKC has agreed to survey all Border Collie owners relating to the
diseases Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL), Trapped Neutrophil
Syndrome (TNS) and Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) and introduction of
Litter Registration Limitations directed at reduction of their
incidence in the breed.

The National Border Collie Council and the ANKC Canine Health
Committee recommend the following program directed at progressive
disease prevention and eventual eradication of the disease-causing
genes:

In relation to the disease NCL

1. The disease NCL be designated as a problem in the breed,
requiring that all breeding stock have genetic status for the
disease determined.

2. Litter Registration Limitations should apply, requiring that for
the litter to be eligible for registration evidence must be
presented to show:

(a) as from July 1, 2008, at least one parent must have clear
genetic status for the disease

(b) as from July 1, 2013, both parents must have clear genetic
status for the disease

© there shall be no breeding from a dog or bitch with a genetic
status of affected.

In relation to the disease TNS

1. The disease NCL be designated as a problem in the breed,
requiring that all breeding stock have genetic status for the
disease determined.

2. Litter Registration Limitations should apply, requiring that for
the litter to be eligible for registration evidence must be
presented to show:

(a) as from July 1, 2008, at least one parent must have clear
genetic status for the disease

(b) as from July 1, 2018, both parents must have clear genetic
status for the disease

© there shall be no breeding from a dog or bitch with a genetic
status of affected.

In relation to the disease CEA

1. The disease CEA be designated as a problem in the breed,
requiring that all breeding stock have genetic status for the
disease determined.

2. Litter Registration Limitations should apply, requiring that for
the litter to be eligible for registration evidence must be
presented to show:

(a) as from July 1, 2008, at least one parent must have clear
genetic status for the disease

(b) as from July 1, 2023, both parents must have clear genetic
status for the disease

© breeding from CEA affecteds is allowed within the limits of (a)
and (b) above.


Litter Registration Limitations
A majority of registered owners within the breed and responding to
this survey must be in favour before approval is given by the ANKC.
Each of the above six items will be considered separately.

If litter registration limitations are approved for any one, two or
three of these diseases, breeders of litters whelped on or after
July 1, 2008, will be required to comply as a prerequisite to
registration of any Border Collie litter.

Rationale
The ANKC Code of Ethics requires breeders to breed only for
improvement of the breed, and requires that members will take
responsible action to reduce the incidence of hereditary diseases
within their breeds. The additional implications of designating
these diseases under the Code of Practice for Hereditary Diseases
are directed at reducing the incidence of the diseases and to ensure
that: -

* the genetic status of all breeding stock is determined for the
specific diseases

breeders are fully informed in relation to the diseases.

Litter registration limitations are to ensure that breeders comply.

The mode of inheritance of each of the three diseases is autosomal
recessive. For each of the three diseases there is a genetic test
that allows determination of the genetic status of any Border Collie
as clear, carrier or affected. This provides the basis for breeding
strategies directed at disease prevention and eventual elimination
of the causative gene.

The basic principles of the program for each disease are : -

Stage 1: Prevention of production of affected offspring by having at
least one parent with clear genetic status for each disease, i.e.

one parent clear for all three diseases, or

one parent clear for one disease and the other parent clear for the
other two.

Stage 2: Elimination of the disease-causing genes from the breeding
pool by having both parents with clear disease status. This is
directed at avoiding further risk of disease and removing the need
for further testing.

In relation to NCL

NCL is an extremely distressing disorder characterised by blindness,
mental dullness, and abnormal behaviour due to abnormal storage of
ceroid bodies in nervous tissue causing atrophy of the brain. Animal
welfare considerations rule out the use of NCL affected animals as
breeding stock (less than 1 %). The incidence of NCL carriers is
approximately 8%, and, while in the interest of eliminating the
disease, many breeders have elected not breed from carriers, a time
frame of 5 years is provided for breeders to include carriers in
their breeding programs and to select against carriers in the next
generation of breeding stock.

In relation to TNS

TNS is a seriously debilitating and eventually lethal disease.
Animal welfare considerations rule out the use of TNS affected
animals as breeding stock (approximately 2%). The incidence of TNS
carriers is approximately 22%, and while many breeders will not
breed from carriers in the interest of eliminating the disease, a
time frame of 10 years is provided for breeders to include carriers
in their breeding programs and to select against carriers in the next
generation of breeding stock.

In relation to CEA

CEA is an eye disease which presents in various forms, the most
serious of which is coloboma, an absence or defect of parts of some
eye tissue affecting vision which may lead to blindness. The
veterinary ophthalmologists recommend that Border Collies with
colobomas are not used for breeding. Only a small % of affecteds
have the coloboma form of CEA. The various forms of CEA all have the
one common causative gene. The incidence of CEA affecteds is
approximately 3.3%, with carriers approximately 36%. The program
allows the use of carriers and affecteds for breeding within a 15-
year time frame for elimination of the CEA genes from the breeding
pool.

Priorities

The key aspect of the program is to prevent further incidence of
these diseases by requiring that at least one parent is genetically
clear for each disease for the specified time frame, after which the
disease-causing genes are to be eliminated from the breeding stock.
The time frame allowed to reach the point of both parents to be
clear of the disease varies according to the seriousness of the
disease and the current incidence. Due to the lethal nature of NCL
and TNS, top priority must be given to elimination of these disease
genes. The time frames are designed to allow time for breeders to
breed from the great majority of current breeding stock and to
select against carriers while still selecting for desirable breed
characteristics.

The program proposed should have little effect on the breed's gene
pool.

The Genetic Tests

The following procedure will apply to DNA tests for NCL and/or TNS
and/or CEA

positive identification is required, i.e. the dog to be tested must
be identified by microchip or permanent tattoo number, and that
number must be scanned or sighted by an approved, independent
collection officer at the time of collecting a DNA sample

the DNA sample may be taken at any age

the appropriate form will be completed by the collection officer and
the identification number included on the form at the time

the DNA sample and form are forwarded to the testing laboratory for
disease testing

results are provided direct to the owner by the testing laboratory.

The following will apply for disease clearance by parentage for NCL
and/or TNS and/or CEA as applicable:

where both parents have clear genetic status for the disease(s) and
a DNA profile, their offspring may be cleared for the relevant
disease(s) by DNA profiling, i.e. the offspring must be DNA profiled
and parentage proven

positive identification is required, i.e. the dog to be DNA profiled
must be identified by microchip or permanent tattoo number, and that
number must be scanned or sighted by an independent collection
officer at the time of collecting a DNA sample and the number
included on the appropriate form

the DNA sample and form are forwarded to the testing laboratory for
DNA profiling

results are provided direct to the owner by the testing laboratory.

Note: Significant cost savings are available through disease
clearance by parentage as the one parentage test may be used to
clear for any or all diseases, and profiling is at a lower cost than
any one disease test. The disease tests can be a one-generation
event. Note also that the testing required applies only to present
and future breeding stock.

Breeding Plans

Breeding plans from the above discussion are given in Table 1 below.

A. Years 1 to 5

The possible combinations of the three diseases for breeding stock
for years 1 to 5 are put into Categories 1 to 12, with approximate
percentages in the breeding stock shown for your information. Then,
to consider the selection of suitable matings for a particular
bitch, determine her category according to her genetic status from
genetic test results. Suitable partners are shown in the right hand
columns. Based solely on limiting the proliferation of the disease
genes, Category 1 is preferred in each case, however there may be a
situation where other factors come into play, such as special
qualities that are highly desirable in the mate to be selected. The
same principles apply in which categories of bitches may be mated to
a male in a particular category. The over-riding factor is that to
be eligible for litter registration, at least one of the parents
must be clear for each disease.

Years 6 to 10

All breeding stock to be NCL clear, which means all parents must be
in Categories 1 to 6. The column on the right of Table 1 no longer
applies, i.e. 3rd. Preference for Partner.

Years 11 to 15

All breeding stock to be NCL clear and TNS clear, which means all
parents must be in Categories 1 to 3. The 3rd. Preference for
Partner no longer applies.

Examples

The following examples may help to clarify the situation:

A brood bitch is NCL carrier, TNS clear, CEA clear. She is in
Category 7.

(a) It is preferable to mate her with a Category 1 male (clear for
the 3 diseases) so that all offspring would be TNS clear and CEA
clear, with an expected ratio of 50% NCL carriers and 50% NCL
clears, allowing a range of offspring for selection against the NCL
gene over a 5-year time frame. Promising offspring could be profiled
and parentage tested to prove clear status for TNS and CEA,
requiring only a NCL test to complete the disease status for
selection purposes.

(b) If the bitch is mated to a Category 2 male, all offspring would
be TNS clear, with the expected ratio of

25% NCL clear, CEA clear

25% NCL carrier, CEA clear

25% NCL clear, CEA carrier

25% NCL carrier, CEA carrier,

reducing the opportunity for selecting those clear for all three
diseases in one generation or requiring further generations to
do so.

A stud dog is NCL clear, TNS clear, CEA carrier. He is in Category
2.

(a) If he is mated to a bitch in Category 1, the offspring would all
be NCL clear, TNS clear, with the expected ratio of 50% of those CEA
clear and 50% CEA carrier. Again, for promising offspring, parentage
testing could be used to clear for NCL and TNS, with a disease test
only required for CEA.

(b) He could possibly be mated to a Category 10 bitch, but promising
offspring would need disease tests for each of the three diseases
for genetic status, and probably a number of generations of testing
to remove the disease genes.