Dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) polymorphisms have been found to be associated with inter-individual variations in the risk,
susceptibility, and severity of immune-related phenomena. While DLA class II genes have been extensively studied, less
research has been performed on the polymorphisms of DLA class I genes, especially in beagle dogs commonly used as
laboratory animals for safety evaluations in drug development. We genotyped four DLA class I genes and four DLA class II
genes by locus-specific Sanger sequencing using 93 laboratory beagle dogs derived from two different strains: TOYO and
Marshall. The results showed that, for DLA class I genes, 11, 4, 1, and 2 alleles, including a novel allele, were detected in
DLA-88 , DLA-12/88L , DLA-64 , and DLA-79 , while, for DLA class II genes, 1, 10, 6, and 7 alleles were detected in DLADRA ,
DLA-DRB1 , DLA-DQA1 , and DLA-DQB1 , respectively. It was estimated that there were 14 DLA haplotypes, six of
which had a frequency of ≥ 5%. Furthermore, when comparing the DLA diversity between TOYO and Marshall strains, the
most common alleles and haplotypes differed between them. This is the first study to genotype all DLA loci and determine
DLA haplotypes including all DLA class I and class II genes in dogs. Integrating information on the DLA diversity of laboratory
beagle dogs should reinforce their benefit as an animal model for understanding various diseases associated with a
specific DLA type.
