UNSW Embryology

Rabbit Development

© Dr Mark Hill (2008)

Acknowledgements

Introduction

As an embryological tool, the rabbit (Taxon- Oryctolagus cuniculus) along with human was a species which show birth defects with thalidomide (teratogenic effects not detected with prior testing on other species). These animals are herbivores with a very high breeding rate and number of offspring produced.

Page Links: Introduction | Some Recent Findings | Taxon | Development Overview | Carnegie Stages Comparison | Rabbit Placentation | Fetal Weight Growth | Rabbit Ultrasound | Postnatal Rabbit Growth | Rabbit Immune Development | Endocrine Development | WWW Links | References | Glossary

Some Recent Findings

Matthews EJ, Kruhlak NL, Daniel Benz R, Contrera JF. A comprehensive model for reproductive and developmental toxicity hazard identification: I. Development of a weight of evidence QSAR database. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2007 Mar;47(2):115-35.

"The analysis revealed clusters of specific categories that contained chemicals that were active in two or more mammalian species (trans-species). Such chemicals are considered to have the highest potential risk to humans. In contrast, some specific categories exhibited only single species-specific activities. Results also showed that the rat and mouse were more susceptible to dysmorphogenesis than rabbits (6.1- and 3.6-fold, respectively)."

Li S, Chen X, Fang Z, Shi J, Sheng HZ Rabbits generated from fibroblasts through nuclear transfer. Reproduction. 2006 Jun;131(6):1085-90.

Deb K, Reese J, Paria BC. Methodologies to study implantation in mice. Methods Mol Med. 2006;121:9-34.

"....The process of implantation can be postponed and reinstated experimentally by manipulating ovarian estrogen secretion. Stromal decidualization can also be induced experimentally in the hormonally prepared uterus in response to stimuli other than the embryo. ...This chapter describes the routine laboratory methodologies to study the events of early pregnancy, with special emphasis on the implantation process in mice."

Taxon

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Taxonomy Id: 9986 Rank: species

Genetic code: Translation table 1 (Standard) Mitochondrial genetic code: Translation table 2
Other names: New Zealand rabbit[includes], rabbits[common name], European rabbit[common name], Japanese white rabbit[common name], domestic rabbit[common name], rabbit[common name], Lepus cuniculus[misnomer]

Lineage( abbreviated ): Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Eutheria; Lagomorpha; Leporidae; Oryctolagus

Development Overview

After mating ovulation occurs 10 hours later.

Blastocyst apposition and attachment (day 6.5).

Carnegie Stages Comparison

Species	Stage	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Human	Days	20	22	24	28	30	33	36	40	42	44	48	52	54	55	58
Rabbit	Days	8	8.5	9.5	10.5	11	12	12.5	13.5	14	14.5	15.5	16	16.5	17	18

Reference: Edwards, The external development of the rabbit and rat embryo. Advances in teratology, Vol 3, Woollam(ed), Academic Press, NY (1968)

Rabbit Placentation

Rabbit implantation and placentation is a centric (or fusion) type, where the blastocyst adheres only to the epithelial cells (apical region) by trophectoderm forming projections. (More? Lee etal., 2004)

Fetal Weight Growth

Overview of fetal and placental weight growth in Rabbits (Graph: Hammond and Marshall, 1925)

Rabbit Ultrasound

The above image is a link to a movie of the rabbit embryo (day 16) (rabbitD16CRLlowres.mpg, 1.4 Mb) using high resolution ultrasound. (Movie: Peter Coombs)

Postnatal Rabbit Growth

Growth data extracted from: A longitudinal study of the growth of the New Zealand white rabbit: cumulative and biweekly incremental growth rates for body length, body weight, femoral length, and tibial length. Masoud I, Shapiro F, Kent R, Moses A. J Orthop Res 1986;4(2):221-31

• paper measures New Zealand white rabbit growth from 2 to 34 weeks of age at biweekly intervals
  • 17 male and 12 female rabbits, with the data tabulated separately.
• A specially designed restrainer was used that allowed the sequential clinical measurements and femoral and tibial radiographs to be performed without the use of anesthesia.
• Skeletal growth was complete at 28 weeks, with the 34 week values mature adult lengths.
• Mean body weight
  • 2 weeks of age was 6% that at 34 weeks
  • 16 weeks was 72% of the weight at 34 weeks
  • weight continued to increase in the adult.
• Mean body length
  • 2 weeks was 40% that at 34 weeks
  • 16 weeks was 91% of mature adult
• Mean femoral length
  • 2 weeks was 38% of adult
  • 16 weeks was 95% of adult
• Mean tibial length
  • 2 weeks was 38% of adult
  • 16 weeks was 94% of adult

Rabbit Immune Development

Rabbits generate their antibody repertoire in three stages.

1. Neonatal repertoire is generated by B lymphopoiesis in fetal liver and bone marrow (limited by preferential V(H) gene segment usage).
2. Between 4 and 8 weeks after birth gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) a complex primary antibody repertoire.
3. The primary antibody repertoire is subsequently modified during antigen-dependent immune responses (the secondary repertoire).

Rabbits uniquely develop a primary antibody repertoire through somatic diversification of Ig genes (dependent on intestinal microbial flora).

(Text modified from abstract: Lanning etal., 2000)

Endocrine Development

The image below shows historic drawings of the development of the embryonic rabbit pituitary at 5, 6 and 16 mm enbryo CRL. (More? Endocrine - Pituitary)

WWW Links

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Rabbit - Husbandry, Health and Production | Chapter 3 REPRODUCTION (FAO Animal Production and Health Series No. 21)

DebMark Rabbit Education Resource Raising Rabbits - The Basics

References

Links: Reviews | Articles | Online Textbooks | Search Textbooks | Search PubMed | Glossary

PubMed

Reviews

• Lee KY, DeMayo FJ.    [See Related Articles] Animal models of implantation. Reproduction. 2004 Dec;128(6):679-95.
• Carney EW, Scialli AR, Watson RE, DeSesso JM.    [See Related Articles] Mechanisms regulating toxicant disposition to the embryo during early pregnancy: an interspecies comparison. Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2004 Dec;72(4):345-60.
• Lanning D, Zhu X, Zhai SK, Knight KL.    [See Related Articles] Development of the antibody repertoire in rabbit: gut-associated lymphoid tissue, microbes, and selection. Immunol Rev. 2000 Jun;175:214-28.

Articles

• Yan LY, Shi LH, Sheng HZ, Liu SZ, Huang JC, Zhu ZY, OuYang YC, Lei ZL, Song XF, Sun QY, Chen DY.    [See Related Articles] Dynamic changes in NuMA and microtubules in monkey-rabbit nuclear transfer embryos. Front Biosci. 2006 May 1;11:1892-900.
• Ogonuki N, Inoue K, Miki H, Mochida K, Hatori M, Okada H, Takeiri S, Shimozawa N, Nagashima H, Sankai T, Ogura A.    [See Related Articles] Differential development of rabbit embryos following microinsemination with sperm and spermatids. Mol Reprod Dev. 2005 Nov;72(3):411-7.
• Cappon GD, Fleeman TL, Chapin RE, Hurtt ME.    [See Related Articles] Effects of feed restriction during organogenesis on embryo-fetal development in rabbit. Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol. 2005 Oct;74(5):424-30.
• Idkowiak J, Weisheit G, Plitzner J, Viebahn C.    [See Related Articles] Hypoblast controls mesoderm generation and axial patterning in the gastrulating rabbit embryo. Dev Genes Evol. 2004 Dec;214(12):591-605.
• Liu JL, Kusakabe H, Chang CC, Suzuki H, Schmidt DW, Julian M, Pfeffer R, Bormann CL, Tian XC, Yanagimachi R, Yang X.    [See Related Articles] Freeze-dried sperm fertilization leads to full-term development in rabbits. Biol Reprod. 2004 Jun;70(6):1776-81.
• Enders AC, Schlafke S.    [See Related Articles] Penetration of the uterine epithelium during implantation in the rabbit. Am J Anat. 1971 Oct;132(2):219-30.

Search PubMed

Search Feb 2006 "rabbit development" 21572 reference articles of which 1191 were reviews.

Search PubMed: term = rabbit+development | term = rabbit embryo development

Glossary of Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Quick Links

Development Notes ----------------- Menstrual Cycle Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Placenta Serial Images Genes/DNA Molecular Dev Abnormal Dev Postnatal Dev Notes Index

System Notes ----------------- Heart/Cardiovascular Respiratory Coelomic cavity Gastrointestinal Tract Head and Neck Neural Neural Crest Eye Ear Nose Endocrine Urogenital Musculoskeletal Integumentary

Movies ----------------- Embryo Growth Ultrasound Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Stage 13/14 Stage 22 Neural Head and Neck Heart Vasculature Gastrointestinal Urogenital Other Embryos Larsen Internet

Other Embryos ----------------- Chicken Fly Frog Guinea Pig Mouse Rabbit Rat Worm Zebrafish

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