How snowshoe hares change from brown in summer to white in the winter

By August Fredericks

Snowshoe hares through most of the year are generally a darker brown, however
during the Winter, they change their fur colour to adapt and camouflage to the snowy
weather. To do this, the body undergoes a change in protein production to change the
pigmentation of the fur from a dark colour to white. Courtesy of the MC1R gene or
melanocortin 1 receptor in the hair and skin cells of the snowshoe hare, it is able to make
this change to survive the harsh winters. Throughout most of the year, the snowshoe hare is
brown, a neutral colour to match with its environment most of the year. The MC1R gene is
read and sends the information through the mRNA to make a chromatophore called melanin.
The protein melanin is formed through amino acids and is folded into its shape. Organisms
with a darker hair or skin tone tend to produce more eumelanin, whereas an organism with
lighter hair or skin produce less eumelanin and more pheomelanin. During the Winter, the
brown coat must change to a white to blend in with the snow surrounding the snowshoe
hare. To do this, the MC1R gene is read and processed through the mRNA similar to as if
the hare is producing melanin for dark fur, but the amino acids join to form the basis of
pheomelanin rather than eumelanin. Both proteins are still produced, just with much lower
amount of eumelanin and more pheomelanin than before. The proteins are then folded into
pheomelanin, and are utilized to produce a white colour coat for the snowshoe hare to blend
into the snow.
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