Posted on 08/30/2014 2:32:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The genetic changes that transformed wild animals into domesticated forms have long been a mystery. An international team of scientists has now made a breakthrough by showing that many genes controlling the development of the brain and the nervous system were particularly important for rabbit domestication...
The domestication of animals and plants, a prerequisite for the development of agriculture, is one of the most important technological revolutions during human history. Domestication of animals started as early as 9,000 to 15,000 years ago and initially involved dogs, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. The rabbit was domesticated much later, about 1,400 years ago, at monasteries in southern France. It has been claimed that rabbits were domesticated because the Catholic Church had declared that young rabbits were not considered meat, but fish, and could therefore be eaten during lent! When domestication occurred, the wild ancestor, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), was confined to the Iberian Peninsula and southern France...
The scientists first sequenced the entire genome of one domestic rabbit to develop a reference genome assembly. Then they resequenced entire genomes of domestic rabbits representing six different breeds and wild rabbits sampled at 14 different places across the Iberian Peninsula and southern France...
In contrast to domestic rabbits, wild rabbits have a very strong flight response because they are hunted by eagles, hawks, foxes and humans, and therefore must be very alert and reactive to survive in the wild...
Rabbit domestication has primarily occurred by altering the frequencies of gene variants that were already present in the wild ancestor.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
The process is well described by Darwin...... artificial selection
Quick, someone call Jimmah Carter.
Jimmy Carter’s fault?
"I *warned* you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you *knew*, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little *bunny*, isn't it?"
Wow, just like with dogs, cats, horses, cattle ...
And just think, with powerful enough computers, computer modeling, and genetic modification, it might be possible to make a Monty Pythonesque killer bunny.
“nd just think, with powerful enough computers, computer modeling, and genetic modification, it might be possible to make a Monty Pythonesque killer bunny.”
Don’t give DARPA any ideas.
My son had that bunny. The most viscous, fearless creature that has ever been born. After a year of trying to tame it, he finally ended the madness and roasted it with onions.
Oops.
Too late.
We will be over run by flop eared madness!
That wascawwy wabbit!
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