Wang K, Yang Y, Wang L, Ma T, Shang H, Ding L, Han J, Qiu Q
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Anim Genet. 2016 Feb;47(1):28-35. doi: 10.1111/age.12377. Epub 2015 Nov 5.
DNA sequence variation has been widely reported as the genetic basis for adaptation, in both humans and other animals, to the hypoxic environment experienced at high altitudes. However, little is known about the patterns of gene expression underlying such hypoxic adaptations. In this study, we examined the differences in the transcriptomes of four organs (heart, kidney, liver and lung) between yak and cattle, a pair of closely related species distributed at high and low altitudes respectively. Of the four organs examined, heart shows the greatest differentiation between the two species in terms of gene expression profiles. Detailed analyses demonstrated that some genes associated with the oxygen supply system and the defense systems that respond to threats of hypoxia are differentially expressed. In addition, genes with significantly differentiated patterns of expression in all organs exhibited an unexpected uniformity of regulation along with an elevated frequency of nonsynonymous substitutions. This co-evolution of protein sequences and gene expression patterns is likely to be correlated with the optimization of the yak metabolic system to resist hypoxia.
DNA序列变异作为人类和其他动物适应高海拔低氧环境的遗传基础，已被广泛报道。然而，对于这种低氧适应背后的基因表达模式却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们检测了牦牛和黄牛这一对分别分布于高海拔和低海拔的近缘物种的四个器官（心脏、肾脏、肝脏和肺）转录组的差异。在所检测的四个器官中，心脏在基因表达谱方面显示出两个物种之间最大的差异。详细分析表明，一些与氧气供应系统以及应对低氧威胁的防御系统相关的基因存在差异表达。此外，在所有器官中具有显著差异表达模式的基因表现出意想不到的调控一致性以及非同义替换频率的升高。蛋白质序列和基因表达模式的这种共同进化可能与牦牛代谢系统抵抗低氧的优化有关。
