https://www.lavanguardia.com/natural/20190227/46731924902/estudio-genetico-mutaciones-adn-gato-lilbub-famoso-internet.html Lil Bub - officially, Lil BUB, as highlighted on his own website - suffers from dwarfism, polydactyly and a deformation in the lower jaw which seems to always be sticking out his tongue, in addition to having bulging eyes. Another of Lil Bub's most unique health problems is osteopetrosis, a disease that also occurs in humans that causes bones to be too dense (marble bone disease or Albers-Schonberg disease). In case they did not know, Lil Bub is a cat and her endearing story has become one of the phenomena in social networks on the Internet and not only because of its curious and friendly appearance. In 2015 a group of young scientists launched a fundraising project (crowfunding) through the internet to carry out a genetic study of Lil Bub. In three days the target figure of $ 6,500 was reached to sequence the genome of the unique kitten and a week later the figure was expanded to $ 8,000. The objective of the study has been not only to know the genetic basis of Lil Bub alterations but also to use this knowledge in the best understanding of mutations that affect various types of living beings, including humans. Now, the scientific team led by Darío G. Lupiáñez, Orsolya Symmons and Daniel M. Ibrahim has published in the online journal bioRxv (specialized in the prepublication or advanced publication of scientific studies pending review) the preliminary results of the genome sequencing of the cat Lil Bub. Among the findings announced in this advanced publication, two mutations appear to be the cause, respectively, of polydactyly and osteopetrosis. The millions of followers of Lil Bub are equally satisfied because a kitten that some might have considered insignificant and not worth living is an example of scientific progress, love and humanity. Crowdfunded whole-genome sequencing of the celebrity cat Lil BUB identifies causal mutations for her osteopetrosis and polydactyly. Mike Bridavsky et al. BioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/556761 #goodjobbub #rainbowbridge #seecomingsoon #lilbub #science #RIPLilBub #bioRxv #osteopetrosis https://www.instagram.com/p/B5lp84EFNqD/?igshid=13yc2p7or8ang
