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DNA testing kits for humans and their pets are a growing business. The draw for consumers ranges from understanding why their dog looks like a Labrador but acts like a German Shepherd, or what diseases they might be prone to.
For a nominal fee, individuals collect saliva from their pet and mail it to the testing company. A lab extracts DNA from the sample, which is then analyzed at many sites within the genome, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, and pronounced snips). SNPs are places in the DNA sequence where there is a genetic variant.
In humans, SNPs occur approximately every 1,000 base pairs of DNA, which means there are about five million SNPs in each person. Dog testing kits may analyze more than 20,000 SNPs to determine breeds.
