Famous for their playful behavior, some rabbits have a unique way of getting around – by doing handstands! The Sauteur d’Alfort rabbit is known for having difficulty using its back legs and often opts to lift them up in the air instead. Researchers from around the world have discovered that this behavior is due to a rare genetic mutation that impacts the rabbit’s spinal cord.
Researchers have identified a genetic mutation that causes rabbits to walk on their front paws instead of hopping. The discovery was made by Miguel Carneiro from the Universidade do Porto in Portugal and Leif Andersson from Uppsala University in Sweden. Through a study, they found that these unique bunnies have a different genetic code that affects their ability to jump.
To investigate further, the researchers bred these unusual rabbits with a standard jumping breed and analyzed the genomes of their 52 offspring. They discovered that baby rabbits unable to hop had a mutation in a gene called RORB, which plays a role in spinal cord development. This mutation leads to a decrease in the number of neurons in the spinal cord that produce the RORB protein, affecting the movement of their hind limbs.
These findings highlight the importance of the RORB gene in animals that rely on jumping to move, such as kangaroos and hares. The research was published in PLOS Genetics on March 25th.
