CIBIO-InBIO REVEALS SECRETS OF CAMOUFLAGE IN SNOWSHOE HARES WHICH MAY IMPACT ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

In a paper recently published by the scientific journal Science, an international team that includes CIBIO-InBIO researchers José Melo-Ferreira and Paulo Célio Alves shows that the regulation of a single pigmentation gene is responsible for variation in winter coat color in snowshoe hares. In some snowshoe hares populations, the incorporation of genetic variants of another hare species cause the development of brown winter coats instead of white, in an adaptation to habitats with less snow.

The research, which has been highlighted by the media, suggests that this genetic information may have implications for the species’ ability to survive climate change.

To know more about this topic, please follow the links below:
“How snowshoe hares evolved to stay seasonally camouflaged” | Science Daily | June 21, 2018
“CIBIO-InBio revela segredos da adaptação das lebres às alterações climáticas” | Notícias UP | June 23, 2018 (Information available in Portuguese)

To read the national press release for this study, please click here.

To access the original article, please click here.