Progress on deer genome research

Deer family is one of the most abundant mammalian families in the world. Deer species are distributed in wide geographic ranges including the North Pole, tropical regions and high-altitude mountains. Of these deer species, China accounts for more than 40% of them and is the main site for deer evolution. Besides the common phenotypical attributes for ruminants, deer family is evolved to possess the unique head gears with periodic regeneration, i.e. antlers. It is currently well accepted that deer is a very valuable model for the studies of ecology, behavior, evolution and biology, especially for the study of mammalian organ regeneration. Reference deer genome is the basis for systematically illustrating deer evolution, deciphering unique biological attributes of deer species, and is significant in protection and utilization of deer genetic resources. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the field of deer genome research, including data of deer genetic variation, molecular basis of adaptive evolution, and key genes and functional genomics involved in deer antler origin and evolution. The overall aim of the paper is to provide the reference neccessary for in depth investigation of deer species.