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Rabbit hair is an excellent textile fiber owing to its softness and luster. However, the poor spinnability of rabbit hair restricts its application on textiles. In this article, ionic liquid (IL) solutions were used to treat rabbit hair at five different temperatures. The raw and treated rabbit hair was then characterized by microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), mechanical property, XRD, and properties related to spininability (crimp and friction property, moisture regain, and electrical performance). The results showed that the rabbit hair fiber's morphology was obviously curled, and mechanical properties and crystallinity were reduced after ILs treatment. Moreover, the friction performance was increased by 15% and the crimp rate was increased by 7.2 times. These results suggest that with proper temperatures of ILs treatment, the rabbit hair could show better potential for spinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mediterranean Europe during the Pleistocene–Holocene, transition changes in the intensification of small prey exploitation by humans are detected. In the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, these changes are mainly evidenced by an increase in the number of rabbit remains, normally exceeding the 90% of the recovered animal specimens. The archaeological site of Balma del Gai (Moià, Barcelona) provides one of the most significant archaeological records of this kind. Through zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis, our work's aims are: to elucidate the human activity on leporids (rabbits and hares) in comparison to other predators, to understand the different ways of handling and exploiting rabbit carcasses and to assess the importance of this small prey for the Epipalaeolithic hunter–gatherers. Results on anatomical representation, breakage and bone surface modifications show that rabbit remains recovered respond to an anthropogenic contribution. High proportions of thermo-altered bones, cut marks caused by lithic tools and teeth marks are observed. All parameters indicate intense exploitation of rabbit fur and meat. This study shows clear evidence of the importance of small prey for human subsistence during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to describe and compare means and measures of variability of fiber characteristics and fiber production between genetically furred and furless rabbits and among classes of furless rabbits. An F1 generation of rabbits was produced by mating New Zealand White does to a rare, furless Mini Lop buck. All F1 offspring had normal coats of fur. Inter se random matings of the F1 stock (barring full-sibling matings) were made to produce the F2 generation that consisted of approximately 75% furred and 25% furless progeny. Furless animals were further subjectively classified into 3 distinct classes (1 to 3) having increasingly more fur. In yr 1, 17 furred and 20 furless rabbits (age 28 to 49 d) were randomly assigned to growing pens, and in yr 2, 17 additional furless and 9 additional furred rabbits were included to increase the size. After 6 wk, the rabbits were weighed, and a measured area of fur (∼20 cm²) was shorn from the left flank of each rabbit. This fiber was weighed and measured for staple length, fiber diameter, prickle factor (% of fibers >30 μm in diameter), and fiber curvature. Fiber production per unit area of skin was calculated and fiber production per animal was estimated. In yr 2, all of the furless and 2 of the furred rabbits were shorn over their entire bodies to obtain direct measurements of total fur weight. Furless rabbits were 9% heavier (1,941 vs. 1,783 g of BW, P < 0.01) and produced approximately 90% less fiber per unit area of skin than furred rabbits (1.74 vs. 15.83 mg/cm², P < 0.01). The fibers from furless rabbits were shorter (1.54 vs. 2.56 cm, P < 0.01) and coarser (15.8 vs. 14.5 μm diameter, P < 0.01) than those from furred rabbits and exhibited greater prickle factor (11.3 vs. 3.5%, P < 0.01) and curvature values (47.5 vs. 38.5 deg/mm, P < 0.01). Class 3 furless rabbits were heavier than rabbits of classes 1 and 2 (2,075 vs. 1,817 and 1,981 g of BW, respectively, P < 0.05). Means for actual total fiber production per animal for classes 1 to 3 were 0.64, 2.07, and 8.68 g, respectively, compared with 23.0 g for furred rabbits (P <0.01). Although some similarities were present, several of the correlations involving fiber properties and BW were substantially different (e.g., BW vs. staple length and fiber diameter vs. weight of fiber per unit area) for furred and furless groups. These results, and those reported elsewhere from a series of experiments, support the potential for production of furless rabbits in arid and tropical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keratin is widely recognized as a high-quality renewable protein resource for biomedical applications. A large amount of rabbit hair waste is produced in textile industries, because it has high medullary layer content, but poor spinnability. Therefore, it is of great significance to extract keratin from waste rabbit hair for recycling. In this research, an ultrasonic-assisted reducing agent-based extraction method was developed and applied to extract keratin from rabbit hair. The results showed that the ultrasonic treatment had a certain destructive effect on the structure of the fiber, and when combined with reducing agent, it could effectively promote the dissolution of rabbit hair, and extract keratin with high molecular weight between 31 and 94 kDa. The structure and properties of keratin were studied. Compared to the rabbit hair, the cystine content of keratin was significantly reduced, and the secondary structure changed from α-helix to β-sheet. The keratin products show excellent biocompatibility and antioxidant capacity. In addition, large keratin particles can be formed by assembly with a balance between intermolecular hydrophobic attraction as the concentration of urea in keratin solution decreased during dialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hair fibre length is an important economic trait of rabbits in fur production. However, molecular mechanisms regulating rabbit hair growth have remained elusive. Results: Here we aimed to characterise the skin traits and gene expression profiles of short-hair and long-hair rabbits by histological and transcriptome analyses. Haematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe the histological structure of the skin of short-hair and long-hair rabbits. Compared to that in short-hair rabbits, a significantly longer anagen phase was observed in long-hair rabbits. In addition, by RNA sequencing, we identified 951 genes that were expressed at significantly different levels in the skin of short-hair and long-hair rabbits. Nine significantly differentially expressed genes were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. A gene ontology analysis revealed that epidermis development, hair follicle development, and lipid metabolic process were significantly enriched. Further, we identified potential functional genes regulating follicle development, lipid metabolic, and apoptosis as well as important pathways including extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and basal cell carcinoma pathway. Conclusions: The present study provides transcriptome evidence for the differences in hair growth between short-hair and long-hair rabbits and reveals that lipid metabolism and apoptosis might constitute major factors contributing to hair length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keratin from a variety of sources is one of the most abundant biopolymers. In livestock and textile industries, a large amount of rabbit hair waste is produced every year, and therefore it is of great significance to extract keratin from waste rabbit hair in terms of the treatment and utilization of wastes. In this study, a novel, eco-friendly and benign choline chloride/oxalic acid deep eutectic solvent at a molar ratio of 1:2 was applied to dissolve waste rabbit hair, and after dissolution keratin was separated by dialysis, filtration, and freeze-drying. The dissolution temperature effect was discussed, and the resulting keratin powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, protein electrophoresis, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, and amino acid analysis. During the dissolution process, the α-helix structure of rabbit hair was deconstructed, and the disulfide bond linkages were broken. The solubility of rabbit hair was significantly enhanced by increasing dissolution temperature, and reached 88% at 120 °C. The keratin produced by dissolving at 120 °C displayed flaky powders after freeze-drying, and had a molecular weight ranging from 3.8 to 5.8 kDa with a high proportion of serine, glutamic acid, cysteine, leucine, and arginine. Such features of molecular weight and amino acid distribution provide more choices for the diverse applications of keratin materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]