Domestic rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus var. domestica L. as a model in the study of domestication and biomedical researches (review)

The domestic rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus var. domestica L.) belongs to the few domesticated species in which the wild ancestral species exists simultaneously with the domesticated one (M. Carneiro, 2014) that allows us to study the mechanisms underlying the processes of domestication. It should be noted that the genetic basis of domestication syndrome is still insufficiently studied (M.A. Zeder, 2006-2017). It is assumed that domestication is a unique form of symbiosis between humans and domesticated species that form a common habitat niche (M.A. Zeder, 2012). Research of symbiotic partners of such a niche allows us to accumulate information about the mechanisms of adaptation to it, including humans. In this regard, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of studying the domestic rabbit, because it has remained one of the main models in biomedical research for many decades (K.M. El-Bayomi, 2013). The unique physiological features of the rabbit explain its widespread use in the study of many human diseases. At the same time, we have not found any works that systematize current information on the fundamental biology of this domesticated species in comparison with its wild ancestral form. The purpose of this review is to summarize data on the population genetic structure (M. Carneiro, 2014; A.D. Stock, 1976), distribution of genomic elements (M. Carneiro, 2011), composition of microbiomes (M.S. Gómez-Conde, 2009), morphometric characteristics and physiological features (S.N. Bogolyubskii, 1959) of the domestic rabbit and ancestral subspecies of the European rabbit, including those that determine the value of O. cuniculus var. domestica not only as an economically valuable species, but also as a model object in various fields of biomedicine. The presented comparative analysis allows us to identify a number of phenotypic characteristics (J.L. Hendrikse, 2007; I. Brusini, 2018; P.S. Ungar, 2010), as well as a group of molecular genetic markers of genomic DNA, differentiating the domestic rabbit from the ancestral species (M. Sparwel, 2019). Distribution of alleles of different mobile genetic elements, microsatellites, separate structural genes involved in the domestication process of domestic rabbit, can improve the efficiency of genetic resources management of not only this species but also other objects that are used in biomedical research, and for solving problems of selection work.