DNA explains why some rabbits walk on their front legs

摘要

SOME rabbits can't hop, and a single gene is the reason why. Mutations in this gene leave the bunnies unable to coordinate their limbs well. Leif Andersson at Uppsala University in Sweden and his colleagues studied a strain of domestic rabbits called sauteur d'Alfort, also known as Alfort jumping rabbits. Unlike most rabbits and other hopping animals, the sauteur d'Alfort bunnies can't perform two-footed hops. After their first few months of life, the rabbits learn to compensate for this by walking solely on their front legs, arching their backs to stick their hind limbs into the air.