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Rabbits that do ‘handstands’ help to find a gene for hopping – Nature.com

A rare breed of acrobatic bunny enables a giant leap in scientists’ knowledge of movement in mammals.

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An unusual rabbit that walks on its front legs has revealed the genetic secrets behind other rabbits ability to hop.
The sauteur dAlfort is a rare breed of rabbit that walks on its front paws, with its hind legs in the air. To find out why these bunnies cant hop, Miguel Carneiro at the University of Porto in Portugal, Leif Andersson at Uppsala University in Sweden and their colleagues bred a sauteur dAlfort with a standard rabbit that can jump, and sequenced the genomes of the pairs 52 grandchildren.

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