Identification of genetic and epigenetic markers associated with canine cryptorchidism

Disorders of sex development (DSD) are congenital conditions in which the chromosomal, gonadal or phentypical sex is atypical and one of them is common in male dogs - cryptorchidism. This abnormality is responsible for sterility or infertility, as well as increased risk of malignancy and thus is considered as important breeding and health issues. The aim of this project is comparative analysis of: (1) expression of genes encoding proteins or non-coding RNAs in the descended and undescended testes of unilateral cryptorchid dogs, (2) methylation status of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in descended and undescended testes and (3) frequency of DNA variants in coding sequence of the DEGs.