Genetics of canine diabetes mellitus part 1: Phenotypes of disease.

This two-part article discusses the mechanisms by which genetic variation can influence the risk of complex diseases, with a focus on canine diabetes mellitus. In Part 1, presented here, the importance of accurate methods for classifying different types of diabetes will be discussed, since this underpins the selection of cases and controls for genetic studies. Part 2 will focus on our current understanding of the genes involved in diabetes risk, and the way in which new genome sequencing technologies are poised to reveal new diabetes genes in veterinary species.