Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2025
04:52
Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
1000
Evolutionary origin of genomic structural variations in domestic yaks
Xinfeng Liu1,2,3, Wenyu Liu1, Johannes A Lenstra4
1State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Nature Communications
|September 19, 2023
Summary
Structural variants (SVs) from natural selection, domestication, and introgression shaped yak evolution. Cattle introgression significantly impacted domestic yak genetics and traits, like coat color.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Evolutionary Biology
- Animal Genetics
Background:
- Yak evolution involved natural selection, domestication, and interspecific introgression.
- Distinguishing genetic variants favored by these distinct evolutionary processes remains challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate the evolutionary origins of structural variants (SVs) in domestic yaks.
- To identify genes influenced by selection and introgression contributing to yak phenotypic diversity.
Main Methods:
- Constructed a graph-genome using 47 genomes from 7 bovine species.
- Detected and genotyped 57,432 high-resolution structural variants (SVs) in 386 individuals.
- Employed phylogenetic analyses to determine SV origins and identified genes under selection or introgression.
Main Results:
- Identified 334 genes with SVs showing selection signals from wild yaks and 686 introgressed from cattle.
- Nearly 90% of domestic yaks exhibited cattle introgression.
- An SV near the KIT gene was linked to white coat color in domestic yaks.
- Confirmed associations between selected SVs, gene expression, and phenotypic variation.
Conclusions:
- Structural variants of diverse evolutionary origins significantly contribute to the phenotypic diversity of domestic yaks.
- Interspecific introgression, particularly from cattle, played a crucial role in domestic yak adaptation and trait variation.
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