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Olfactory genes in Tibetan wild boar

Nature Genetics volume 48, pages 972–973 (2016)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

In a previous study, Li et al.1 performed a genome sequencing and comparative analysis for Tibetan wild boars, which provided new insight into the genetic landscape for the high-altitude adaptation of this species. In their study, they performed de novo assembly with 131× coverage of the genome from a female Tibetan wild boar employing a whole-genome shotgun sequencing and assembly (WGSA) strategy with the SOAPdenovo program2. They reported an interesting finding of contraction of olfactory receptor genes in Tibetan wild boar and inferred that it was an adaptation attributable to the high-altitude environment with limited food variety. They also cited lower barometric pressure and lower humidity, which tend to decrease the capacity of air to carry odorants bound to vapor molecules, as well as lower temperature, which slows the diffusion of odorous molecules, as contributing factors. Their contextualization and explanation of this finding gives their conclusion quite some plausibility. However, in stark contrast, Qiu et al.3 demonstrated an expansion of olfactory receptor genes in yak (native to and the symbol of Tibet) in comparison to cattle. Two additional studies on the ground tit genome assembly via WGSA4,5 reported contradictory findings about the evolution of olfactory receptor genes in high altitude. Thus far, this discrepancy remains unresolved and unexplained.

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Figure 1: Genome sequencing depth for olfactory receptor genes.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, grant XDB13020600. N.O.O. is thankful for the support of the CAS-TWAS President's Fellowship Program for Doctoral Candidates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China

    Ming-Shan Wang, He-Chuan Yang, Newton O Otecko, Dong-Dong Wu & Ya-Ping Zhang

  2. Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China

    Ming-Shan Wang, Newton O Otecko, Dong-Dong Wu & Ya-Ping Zhang

  3. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China

    He-Chuan Yang

  4. Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources, Yunnan University, Kunming, China

    Ya-Ping Zhang

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  1. Ming-Shan Wang
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Correspondence to Ming-Shan Wang or Ya-Ping Zhang.

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Wang, MS., Yang, HC., Otecko, N. et al. Olfactory genes in Tibetan wild boar. Nat Genet 48, 972–973 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3631

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