Rabbits have many uses - as well as being cherished pets, they are bred for their meat and fur, and as laboratory animals. Understanding their genetics and genomics is key to their production and, equally, to their care, welfare and health. Beginning with an introduction to the rabbit, including key information on their evolution, domestication and breed types, this book then concentrates on the genetics and genomics of this valuable animal. Concluding with practical applications such as creating transgenic and genome edited rabbits, biotechnical applications and the rabbit as a biomedical model, this book brings this important topic fully up-to-date. It provides an indispensable resource for animal and veterinary researchers and students, as well as rabbit breeders and laboratory scientists.

Louis-Marie Houdebine and Jianglin Fan The study of biological functions of proteins and their possible roles in the pathogenesis of human diseases requires more and more relevant animal m- els. Although mice including genetically modified mice offer many possibilities, other non-murine species are absolutely required in some circumstances. Rabbit is one of these species, which has been widely used in biomedical studies. This animal is genetically and physiologically closer to humans including cardiov- cular system and metabolism characteristics. Rabbit is thus more appropriate than mice to study some diseases such as atherosclerosis and lipid metabolism. Because of its larger size, surgery manipulation, bleeding, and turn-over studies are much easier performed in rabbits than in mice. Furthermore, transgenic rabbits can be produced using microinjection and other methods such as lentiviral v- tors. Cloning in rabbits has been proved possible, even though still laborious and time-consuming. Hopefully, functional rabbit ES cell lines will be available in the coming years. Gene deletion or knock-out in rabbits will then become possible.

This is the first book to cover all aspects of Lagomorph biology. Lagomorphs are a mammalian order which includes rabbits, hares and pikas. They are distributed throughout the world and are of both scientific and public interest as they are classified between endangered and pest species. In addition, some have a high economic value as important game species. In the last few decades, a huge amount of information has been made available to the scientific community that has resulted in remarkable advances on all aspects of Lagomorph biology.

This book focuses on the use of molecular tools to study small populations of rare and endangered mammals, and presents case studies that apply an evolutionary framework to address innovative questions in the emerging field of mammalian conservation genomics using a highly diverse set of novel molecular tools. Novel and more precise molecular technologies now allow experts in the field of mammology to interpret data in a more contextual and empirical fashion and to better describe the evolutionary and ecological processes that are responsible for the patterns they observe. The book also demonstrates how recent advances in genetic/genomic technologies have been applied to assess the impact of environmental/anthropogenic changes on the health of small populations of mammals. It examines a range of issues in the field of mammalian conservation genomics, such as the role that the genetic diversity of the immune system plays in disease protection and local adaptation; the use of noninvasive techniques and genomic banks as a resource for monitoring and restoring populations; the structuring of population by physical barriers; and genetic diversity. Further, by integrating research from a variety of areas – including population genetics, molecular ecology, systematics, and evolutionary and conservation biology – it enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the conservation biology of mammals that are at increasing risk of extinction at local, regional and global scales. As such, it offers a unique resource for a broad readership interested in the conservation biology of mammals and conservation management strategies to better preserve biodiversity.

Sequence - Evolution - Function is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis. Sequence - Evolution - Function should help bridge the "digital divide" between biologists and computer scientists, allowing biologists to better grasp the peculiarities of the emerging field of Genome Biology and to learn how to benefit from the enormous amount of sequence data available in the public databases. The book is non-technical with respect to the computer methods for genome analysis and discusses these methods from the user's viewpoint, without addressing mathematical and algorithmic details. Prior practical familiarity with the basic methods for sequence analysis is a major advantage, but a reader without such experience will be able to use the book as an introduction to these methods. This book is perfect for introductory level courses in computational methods for comparative and functional genomics.

Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.

One of the holy grails in biology is the ability to predict functional characteristics from an organism's genetic sequence. Despite decades of research since the first sequencing of an organism in 1995, scientists still do not understand exactly how the information in genes is converted into an organism's phenotype, its physical characteristics. Functional genomics attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data from "-omics" screens and projects to describe gene and protein functions and interactions. A February 2020 workshop was held to determine research needs to advance the field of functional genomics over the next 10-20 years. Speakers and participants discussed goals, strategies, and technical needs to allow functional genomics to contribute to the advancement of basic knowledge and its applications that would benefit society. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.