Geneticists from the University of Washington in Seattle did some serious work and in 2010 announced that the reason for the formation of folds characteristic of the breed is a mutation in the HAS2 gene, which is responsible for the production of an enzyme that is fundamentally important for the formation of skin cells.
They speculate that the spontaneous DNA breakdown that led to the unusually “folded” puppy was noticed and perpetuated by ancient Chinese breeders.
Another study, carried out in 2004, testifies that the Shar-Pei, along with the Siberian Husky, Afghan Hound, and Pekingese, belongs to the so-called first cluster of breeds, that is, their genotype is most similar to the set of genes of the wild wolf.
