Ground tit genome reveals avian adaptation to living at high altitudes in the Tibetan plateau

Y Qu; H Zhao; N Han; G Zhou; G Song; B Gao; S Tian; J Zhang; Ruiying Zhang; X Meng; Yuan Zhang; Yong Zhang; X Zhu; Wenjuan Wang; David Lambert; P G P Ericson; Sankar Subramanian; C Yeung; R Li; H Zhu; F Lei; Z Jiang

doi:10.1038/ncomms3071

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Ground tit genome reveals avian adaptation to living at high altitudes in the Tibetan plateau

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Ground tit genome reveals avian adaptation to living at high altitudes in the Tibetan plateau

Y Qu, H Zhao, N Han, G Zhou, G Song, B Gao, S Tian, J Zhang, Ruiying Zhang, X Meng, …

Nature Communications, Vol.4(2071)

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3071

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Abstract

The ground tit (Parus humilis) is endemic to the Tibetan plateau. It is a member of family Paridae but it was long thought to be related to the ground jays because of their morphological similarities. Here we present the ground tit's genome and re-sequence two tits and one ground jay, to clarify this controversially taxonomic status and uncover its genetic adaptations to the Tibetan plateau. Our results show that ground tit groups with two tits and it diverges from them between 7.7 and 9.9 Mya. Compared with other avian genomes, ground tit shows expansion in genes linked to energy metabolism and contractions in genes involved in immune and olfactory perception. We also found positively selected and rapidly evolving genes in hypoxia response and skeletal development. These results indicated that ground tit evolves basic strategies and 'tit-to-jay' change for coping with the life in an extreme environment. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

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Title: Ground tit genome reveals avian adaptation to living at high altitudes in the Tibetan plateau
Authors: Y Qu (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
H Zhao (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
N Han (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
G Zhou (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
G Song (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
B Gao (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
S Tian (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
J Zhang (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
Ruiying Zhang (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
X Meng (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
Yuan Zhang (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
Yong Zhang (Author)
X Zhu (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Wenjuan Wang (Author)
David Lambert (Author) - Griffith University
P G P Ericson (Author) - Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden
Sankar Subramanian (Author) - Griffith University
C Yeung (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
R Li (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
H Zhu (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
F Lei (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Z Jiang (Author) - Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, China
Publication details: Nature Communications, Vol.4(2071); 9
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2013
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3071
ISSN: 2041-1723
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451203902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

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