The Gut Microbiota Determines the High-Altitude Adaptability of Tibetan Wild Asses (Equus kiang) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ABSTRACT: It was acknowledged long ago that microorganisms have played critical roles in animal evolution. Tibetan wild asses (TWA, Equus kiang) are the only wild perissodactyls on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and the first national protected animals; however, knowledge about the relationships between their gut microbiota and the host's adaptability remains poorly understood. Herein, 16S rRNA and meta-genomic sequencing approaches were employed to investigate the gut microbiota-host associations in TWA and were compared against those of the co-resident livestock of yak (Bos grunnies) and Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries). Results revealed that the gut microbiota of yak and Tibetan sheep underwent convergent evolution. By contrast, the intestinal microflora of TWA diverged in a direc

SUBMITTER: Liu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9342865 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature