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An X, Mao L, Wang Y, Xu Q, Liu X, Zhang S, Qiao Z, Li B, Li F, Kuang Z, Wan N, Liang X, Duan Q, Feng Z, Yang X, Liu S, Nevo E, Liu J, Storz JF, Li K. Genomic structural variation is associated with hypoxia adaptation in high-altitude zokors. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:339-351. [PMID: 38195998 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02275-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Zokors, an Asiatic group of subterranean rodents, originated in lowlands and colonized high-elevational zones following the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau about 3.6 million years ago. Zokors live at high elevation in subterranean burrows and experience hypobaric hypoxia, including both hypoxia (low oxygen concentration) and hypercapnia (elevated partial pressure of CO2). Here we report a genomic analysis of six zokor species (genus Eospalax) with different elevational ranges to identify structural variants (deletions and inversions) that may have contributed to high-elevation adaptation. Based on an assembly of a chromosome-level genome of the high-elevation species, Eospalax baileyi, we identified 18 large inversions that distinguished this species from congeners native to lower elevations. Small-scale structural variants in the introns of EGLN1, HIF1A, HSF1 and SFTPD of E. baileyi were associated with the upregulated expression of those genes. A rearrangement on chromosome 1 was associated with altered chromatin accessibility, leading to modified gene expression profiles of key genes involved in the physiological response to hypoxia. Multigene families that underwent copy-number expansions in E. baileyi were enriched for autophagy, HIF1 signalling and immune response. E. baileyi show a significantly larger lung mass than those of other Eospalax species. These findings highlight the key role of structural variants underlying hypoxia adaptation of high-elevation species in Eospalax.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan An
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Leyan Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yinjia Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Qinqin Xu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining, China
| | - Xi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Shangzhe Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhenglei Qiao
- College of Life Sciences and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, China
| | - Bowen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Fang Li
- College of Life Sciences and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, China
| | - Zhuoran Kuang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Na Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaolong Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Qijiao Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhilong Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaojie Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Sanyuan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Eviatar Nevo
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jianquan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
| | - Jay F Storz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
| | - Kexin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
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