search

monarch-initiative / vertebrate-breed-ontology

https://monarch-initiative.github.io/vertebrate-breed-ontology/
8 stars 0 forks source link

Representation of crossbreed and mixed breed dogs #112

Open katiermullen opened 11 months ago

katiermullen commented 11 months ago

There are currently terms in VBO for:

Mixed breed (Dog) VBO:0200902 Crossbreed (Dog) VBO:0200393

All of the "mixed breeds" for example, Labradoodle VBO:0200798, are children of Mixed Breed (Dog).

Crossbreed is a child of Mixed Breed currently, but I am not sure this is correct.

Are "Mixed breed" and "Crossbreed" terms related? Are they exact synonyms? Is there a reference to definitions that I can include in VBO?

franknic commented 11 months ago

Thank you, Katie. This is a complicated issue! Mixed breed and crossbreed are, in practice, synonyms, but there is no citable source for this. We can be certain, however, that crossbreed is not a child of mixed breed. The relevant entries in VBO are: Crossbreed (Dog) VBO:0200393, with parent Mixed breed (Dog) VBO:0200902 Purebred Cross Canine (Dog) VBO:0201110, with parent Mixed breed (Dog) VBO:0200902 Schnauzer-Beagle Cross (Dog) VBO:0201186, with parent Mixed breed (Dog) VBO:0200902 Neither Crossbreed (Dog) VBO:0200393 nor Purebred Cross Canine (Dog) VBO:0201110 appears in VBO as a parent VeNom has two relevant dog entries: 13916 Crossbreed (Mongrel) (Batard) 22404 Purebred cross (Canine) A just-published paper (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288081)] by the creators of VeNom developed what they called “Purebred status”, with three possibilities, all described in the context of the information entered in case records at veterinary practices:

  1. Designer-crossbred = mixed-breed dogs with contrived portmanteau names generated from two or more purebred breed terms (e.g., Labradoodle). (The paper cited the Kennel Club as the inspiration for this term; see https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/dog-breeding/first-time-breeders/how-to-breed-a-crossbred-dog/)
  2. Nondesigner-crossbred = mixed-breed dogs that have not been given a portmanteau name, but where one or more of the breeds may be specified (e.g. lab x poodle, collie x) or unspecified (e.g., crossbred, mongrel)
  3. Purebred = any breed in the VeNom list that is not included in 1 or 2 above

This categorisation seems to be a good starting point, especially since it has a citable source. We would, however, need a better parent name than “Purebred status”. Possibly something like “Purebred_Crossbred status”. If we were to adopt this categorisation, then: a. Mixed breed (Dog) VBO:0200902 could be renamed Designer Crossbred (Dog) VBO:0200902, and most of its existing children would be consistent with the above definition. b. Crossbreed (Dog) VBO:0200393 and Purebred Cross Canine (Dog) VBO:0201110 could be obsoleted c. A new parent-level entry could be created, named “Nondesigner Crossbred” d. Existing entries such as Mongrel (Dog) VBO:0200905 and Schnauzer-Beagle Cross (Dog) VBO:0201186 would be re-allocated from parent VBO:0200902 to new parent “Nondesigner Crossbred”

In 2016, I argued strongly (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27387730/) that there should be a separate category for dogs that are known to be the offspring of a cross between two recognised breeds, i.e. F1 dogs. The big advantage of having such a category is that it would then enable a valid study of the extent to which hybrid vigour exists in dogs. However, I was soon convinced that it is just not practicable to expect veterinary practices to distinguish between F1 and later-generation crosses. So I have reluctantly abandoned that idea! Other suggestions?

cmungall commented 1 month ago

Duplicate with #6?

LeroyGregoire commented 1 month ago

On your 3 categories (Designer-crossbred,, Nondesigner-crossbred, Purebred), I think it would make sense to add : Undetermined crossbred...