It’s a good thing these rabbits are herbivores because their fluorescent green glow would surely tip off prey.

Using University of Hawaii research, scientists in Turkey have produced rabbits that glow in the dark. The glowing effect was achieved by inserting a fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA into the mother rabbit’s embryo.

The ultimate goal of the research is not to produce green rabbits, but to lower the cost of medicines, according to a UH press release:

The point of the experiment was to show that genetic manipulation with the University of Hawai`i’s technique works efficiently in rabbits.  The overall goal is to introduce a beneficial gene into female rabbits, then to collect the protein made in the milk produced by the female rabbits.  This approach could lead to new and competitively efficient ways to produce medicines.

Out of the litter of eight rabbits, two of them were born with the green glow: 

Photo: Courtesy, University of Hawaii

— Sophie Cocke