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Meet the short-legged daddy.
Daddy Short Legs
Scientists genetically engineered the creatures known as the long-legged daddy to create a mutated version with, well, short legs, in an effort to study how arachnid genomes evolve over time – and why their legs. scary gets so long in the first place, CNET reports.
The work has been widely portrayed as cute in the media, and that may well strengthen our understanding of genetics. But the images of the genetically hacked monstrosities are downright disturbing (not that the control group, without genetic modifications, is exactly adorable.)
Genetic interference
The team, led by Guilherme Gainett of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first sequenced the genome of the insect, which was one of more than 6,000 known species of long-legged daddy called Harvestmen, which are technically close cousins of spiders.
Then they used a technique called “RNA interference” to turn off a pair of genes associated with leg development in hundreds of the creature’s embryos.
The gruesome result: six of the reapers’ eight legs were underdeveloped and much shorter, as detailed in their journal article Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The limbs have also lost their tarsomers, which gives them the ability to grip sticks.
“The daddy long legged genome has great potential to clarify the complex history of the evolution of the arachnid genome and the body plane, as well as reveal how daddy’s long legs make their unique long legs,” said Gainett CNET.
“For the future, we are interested in understanding how genes give rise to new characteristics of arachnids, such as spider fangs and scorpion claws, and in leveraging the genome to develop the first transgenic harvesters”, he added.
For the arachnophobes among us, just hope scientists don’t end up with giant daddy’s long legs the next time they decide to genetically modify the creatures.
READ MORE: Scientists alter genes in long daddy legs to create short daddy legs [CNET]
Learn more about genetic engineering: Residents are furious at the release of 500 million genetically hacked mosquitoes
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