Draft genome sequence of the Tibetan antelope

• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2860
• Publication Date: 2013-05-14T07:44:41Z
• Authors: Ri-Li Ge; Qingle Cai; Yong-Yi Shen; A San; Lan Ma; Yong Zhang; Xin Yi; Yan Chen; Lingfeng Yang; Ying Huang; Rongjun He; Yuanyuan Hui; Meirong Hao; Yue Li; Bo Wang; Xiaohua Ou; Jiaohui Xu; Yongfen Zhang; Kui Wu; Chunyu Geng; Weiping Zhou; Taicheng Zhou; David M. Irwin; Yingzhong Yang; Liu Ying; Haihua Bao; Jaebum Kim; Denis M. Larkin; Jian Ma; Harris A. Lewin; Jinchuan Xing; Roy N. Platt; David A. Ray; Loretta Auvil; Boris Capitanu; Xiufeng Zhang; Guojie Zhang; Robert W. Murphy; Jun Wang; Ya-Ping Zhang; Jian Wang
• Keywords: MECHANISM; 0301 basic medicine; Heterozygote; DATABASE; Molecular Sequence Data; Tibet; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Article; Evolution, Molecular; PHYLOGENETIC TREES; 03 medical and health sciences; HIGH-ALTITUDE ADAPTATION; Animals; Selection, Genetic; Genome; Base Sequence; Altitude; DNA; Sequence Analysis, DNA; 15. Life on land; 001; Adaptation, Physiological; EVOLUTION; ALIGNMENT; Gene Ontology; Antelopes; Multigene Family; CELLS; ACID; Ursidae

The Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) is endemic to the extremely inhospitable high-altitude environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a region that has a low partial pressure of oxygen and high ultraviolet radiation. Here we generate a draft genome of this artiodactyl and use it to detect the potential genetic bases of highland adaptation. Compared with other plain-dwelling mammals, the genome of the Tibetan antelope shows signals of adaptive evolution and gene-family expansion in genes associated with energy metabolism and oxygen transmission. Both the highland American pika, and the Tibetan antelope have signals of positive selection for genes involved in DNA repair and the production of ATPase. Genes associated with hypoxia seem to have experienced convergent evolution. Thus, our study suggests that common genetic mechanisms might have been utilized to enable high-altitude adaptation.