Rapid phenotypic evolution with shallow genomic differentiation during early stages of high elevation adaptation in Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

ABSTRACT: Known as the 'third polar region', the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau represents one of the harshest highland environments in the world and yet a number of organisms thrive there. Previous studies of birds, animals and humans have focused on well-differentiated populations in later stages of phenotypic divergence. The adaptive processes during the initial phase of highland adaptation remain poorly understood. We studied a human commensal, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, which has followed human agriculture to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Despite strong phenotypic differentiation at multiple levels, in particular in muscle-related phenotypes, highland and lowland populations show shallow genomic divergence and the colonization event occurred within the past few thousand years. In a one-month acclimation ex

SUBMITTER: Qu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8289047 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature