The domesticated breed of rabbit called sauteur d’Alfort doesn’t hop. When it wants to move quickly, it stands on its front paws and walks using them exclusively. This weird mode of conveyance appears to be due to a mutation in a gene called RORB.
In the rabbit study, Andersson and colleagues bred hop-less sauteur d’Alfort male rabbits with New Zealand white female rabbits that can hop. The team then scanned the genetic blueprints of the offspring that couldn’t hop and looked for mutations that didn’t appear in offspring that could.
A mutation in the RORB gene popped up as a likely candidate for the rabbits’ acrobatic handstands. That change creates faulty versions of the genetic instructions that cells use to make proteins, the researchers found. As a result, there appears to be less of the RORB protein in specialized nerve cells in rabbits that have the mutation compared with rabbits that don’t.
Those spinal cord nerve cells, called interneurons, help coordinate the left and right side of the body and are crucial for a normal gait, Anderson says. Without the RORB protein in interneurons, the rabbits may lack the ability to coordinate what their hind limbs are doing, which restricts their ability to hop.
When moving slowly, the rabbits with the mutant RORB gene move like any other rabbit, alternating front and back legs. However, when they have to move fast, they hike up their posteriors and run on their front paws, unlike normal rabbits that travel much faster and further by hopping. It’s a distinction that could make the difference between reaching safety from a predator and becoming its dinner.
The RORB gene appears to influence the development of the spinal cord and limb coordination. This is not just an issue for rabbits, but for humans as well, so this research could have an impact on understanding genetic influence on how humans coordinate their limb movements. The researchers note, however, that they don’t know what other effects this mutation might have on the rabbits who have it. Said one researcher, “All they’re looking for is that mutation in one gene and how that gene is affecting the spinal cord, but it could be affecting everything in the rabbit. We have no idea.”
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From foresterbob:
I'm submitting this comment from fll7612 because of its unique nature. Those of us who live in the United States never need to deal with cobras invading our property. So, just in case you ever need to safely corral a cobra, this comment from The Daily Bucket (today by Ocean Diver) tells you how.
From inkstainedwretch:
This comment by dmhlt 66 ridiculing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s anti-meth program, from Lefty Coaster’s post on Sen. Mike Rounds’ (R-SD) weird tweet daring Biden to take his guns.
Noem's moran program against meth is symptomatic of the fourth grade logic used by Republicans reacting to any problems, but also any problems that only exist in their imaginations, like wars on Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head, Christmas, etc.
Highlighted by Berkeley Fred:
This comment by Lincoln green in OK Dodo’s post about a Southwest pilot who broadcast his profanity-laced rant about San Francisco to his passengers.
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