Adaptation Mechanisms of Yak (<i>Bos grunniens</i>) to High-Altitude Environmental Stress
Wondossen Ayalew,
Min Chu,
Chunnian Liang,
Xiaoyun Wu,
Ping Yan
Affiliations
Wondossen Ayalew
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
Min Chu
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
Chunnian Liang
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
Xiaoyun Wu
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
Ping Yan
Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding Engineering, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China
Living at a high altitude involves many environmental challenges. The combined effects of hypoxia and cold stress impose severe physiological challenges on endothermic animals. The yak is integral to the livelihood of the people occupying the vast, inhospitable Qinghai–Tibetan plateau and the surrounding mountainous region. Due to long-term selection, the yak exhibits stable and unique genetic characteristics which enable physiological, biochemical, and morphological adaptations to a high altitude. Thus, the yak is a representative model for mammalian plateau-adaptability studies. Understanding coping mechanisms provides unique insights into adaptive evolution, thus informing the breeding of domestic yaks. This review provides an overview of genetic adaptations in Bos grunniens to high-altitude environmental stress. Combined genomics and theoretical advances have informed the genetic basis of high-altitude adaptations.
