Many genes associated with dog behavior influence human personalities, too

"Many dog breeds are noted for their personalities and behavioral traits, from the distinctive vocalizations of huskies to the herding of border collies. People have worked to identify the genes associated with many of these behaviors, taking advantage of the fact that dogs can interbreed. But that creates its own experimental challenges, as it can be difficult to separate some behaviors from physical traits distinctive to the breed-small dog breeds may seem more aggressive simply because they feel threatened more often."

"To get around that, a team of researchers recently did the largest gene/behavior association study within a single dog breed. Taking advantage of a population of over 1,000 golden retrievers, they found a number of genes associated with behaviors within that breed. A high percentage of these genes turned out to correspond to regions of the human genome that have been associated with behavioral differences as well. But, in many cases, these associations have been with very different behaviors."

A gene–behavior association analysis targeted over 1,000 golden retrievers using blood-derived genomic scans and annual owner-reported behavior surveys from the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. Genomic variants were compared to ratings across 14 behavioral tendencies, including fear and aggression directed toward strangers or other dogs. Twelve genomic regions showed associations with specific behaviors and nine additional regions showed weaker links. A high proportion of associated canine genomic regions corresponded to human genomic regions previously linked to behavioral differences, although the matched human associations often involved different behaviors. Single-breed analysis reduced confounding from interbreed physical-trait correlations.

Read at Ars Technica