The repertoires of bitter-taste receptor (T2R) gene have been described for several
animal species, but these data are still scarce for Lagomorphs. The aim of the present
work is to identify potential repertoires of T2R in several Lagomorph species, covering a
wide geographical distribution. We studied these genes in Lepus timidus, L. europaeus,
Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus, Romerolagus diazi, and Sylvilagus floridanus, using
O. cuniculus cuniculus as control species for PCR and DNA sequencing. We studied
the identities of the DNA sequences and built the corresponding phylogenetic tree.
Sequencing was successful for both subspecies of O. cuniculus for all T2R genes
studied, for five genes in Lepus, and for three genes in R. diazi and S. floridanus. We
describe for the first time the partial repertoires of T2R genes for Lagomorphs species,
other than the common rabbit. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that sequence
proximity levels follow the established taxonomic classification