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英文原稿
Dogs vary greatly in body sizes, nose and ear shapes, fur types, and coat colors. The diversity is the work of human.
Human breeders fast-forwarded the normal pace of evolution by combining traits from disparate dogs and accentuating them by breeding those offsprings with desired attributes.
For example, in 19th century, German hunters tried to create a dog well suited for cornering badgers, and they brought together some combination of the basset and terriers, producing a new breed with stubby legs and a rounded body that enabled it to chase its prey into the mouth of a burrow: hence the dachshund.
The vast difference of dog breeds is decided by changes in a few gene regions. Dachshund's diminutive body and the Rottweiler's massive one is determined by a single gene. The disparity between the dachshund's stumpy legs and a greyhound's sleek ones is decided by another.
Flip a few gene switches you make the floppy ears erect, or make smooth skin wrinkled. By modifying genes, your Dachshund becomes a Doberman, or your Doberman becomes a Dalmatian.
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