Multidimensional scale (MDS) plots of genetic similarities among the analyzed breeds.

<p>(A) MDS of Northern hemisphere hunting spitz and Laika breeds. The plots are three-dimensional (3D) and the size of each dot (sample) is relative to its position on the z-axis. Pannable, interactive 3D plot can be accessed at <a href="https://www.mydogdna.com/crm/index.html#en/breeds/519248a83cd390a0520000ce/norrbottenspitz/relationships" target="_blank">https://www.mydogdna.com/crm/index.html#en/breeds/519248a83cd390a0520000ce/norrbottenspitz/relationships</a> (tab “Nordic Hunting Dogs” or “Nordic Spitz Breeds” to include also the herding breeds). As MDS (as well as other PCA applications) find the best possible fit for all samples in the dataset, the separation of the different clusters is dependent on which samples are included. This can be demonstrated by the separation of closely related Lapphound and Lapponian Herder when viewed together with other breeds (B) or when only the two breeds are compared (C). Therefore, also the position of the clusters does not represent true genetic distances (e.g. % of genetic difference) between the breeds, as can be depicted on dendrograms.