Disease overview

Cleft Palate is a disease that occurs during embryonic development, as the two halves of the body fuse together. With this mutation, the mouth does not fuse at the midline completely, leaving the roof of the mouth with a gap in the middle.

Gene name

DLX6

Inheritance

Autosomal recessive

Signs and symptoms

Puppies with this condition evaluated at birth will have a visible cleft in the hard palate. If it is not diagnosed early, puppies may leak milk from their nose while nursing, show signs of respiratory distress, or present with weight loss.

How is it diagnosed

Physical examination of the puppies as well as genetic testing can support a diagnosis of this disease.

Breeds at higher risk

Citations

Wolf ZT, Leslie EJ, Arzi B, Jayashankar K, Karmi N, Jia Z, Rowland DJ, Young A, Safra N, Sliskovic S, Murray JC, Wade CM, Bannasch DL. A LINE-1 insertion in DLX6 is responsible for cleft palate and mandibular abnormalities in a canine model of Pierre Robin sequence. PLoS Genet. 2014 Apr 3;10(4):e1004257. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004257. PMID: 24699068; PMCID: PMC3974639.

Disclaimer

Disease diagnosis and treatment should always be performed by a veterinarian. The following information is for educational purposes only.