The aim of the study was to find associations between the process of neoplastic transformation and
mtDNA mutations/polymorphisms, i.e. factors with potential prognostic significance, and to determine
their impact on the biochemical properties, as well as structural, and functional properties of
proteins. Blood and neoplastic tissue samples were collected from a 9-year-old Labrador dog with
a diagnosed malignant mammary tumour. Next-generation genome sequencing (NGS) of the entire
mitochondrial genome was performed using Illumina technology, and bioinformatics analyses
were carried out. This is the first report demonstrating the application of NGS in the analysis of the
canine mtDNA genome in neoplastic disease. The proposed strategy is innovative and promising.
For the first time in the literature, the sequence of 29 genes was analysed to determine their association
with the prevalence of tumour. In total, 32 polymorphic loci and 15 mutations were identified.
For the first time, as many as 24 polymorphisms and all the mutations have been described to
be associated with the neoplastic process in dogs. Most polymorphisms/mutations were found in
the D-loop (31% of the polymorphisms and 93% of the mutations) and the COX1 gene sequence
(16% of the polymorphisms). Blood or cancer heteroplasmy was noted in 93% of the mutations.
Four of the 18 polymorphisms detected in the protein-coding genes were non-synonymous polymorphisms
that have not been described in the literature so far (m.T7593C in COX2, m.G8807A
in COX3, m.A9911G in ND4L, and m.T13299A in ND5) but resulted in changes in amino acids
in proteins. These mutations and polymorphisms can affect mitochondrial functions and may be
a result of cell adaptation to the changes in the environment occurring during carcinogenesis. The
replacement of “wild type” mtDNA by a mutated molecule may be an important phenomenon accompanying
carcinogenesis.