Abstract
The snub-nosed monkey genus Rhinopithecus includes five closely related species distributed across altitudinal gradients from 800 to 4,500 m. Rhinopithecus bieti, Rhinopithecus roxellana, and Rhinopithecus strykeri inhabit high-altitude habitats, whereas Rhinopithecus brelichi and Rhinopithecus avunculus inhabit lowland regions. We report the de novo whole-genome sequence of R. bieti and genomic sequences for the four other species. Eight shared substitutions were found in six genes related to lung function, DNA repair, and angiogenesis in the high-altitude snub-nosed monkeys. Functional assays showed that the high-altitude variant of CDT1 (Ala537Val) renders cells more resistant to UV irradiation, and the high-altitude variants of RNASE4 (Asn89Lys and Thr128Ile) confer enhanced ability to induce endothelial tube formation in vitro. Genomic scans in the R. bieti and R. roxellana populations identified signatures of selection between and within populations at genes involved in functions relevant to high-altitude adaptation. These results provide valuable insights into the adaptation to high altitude in the snub-nosed monkeys.
Highlights
The snub-nosed monkey genus Rhinopithecus (Colobinae) comprises five closely related species (R. bieti, R. roxellana, R. brelichi, R. avunculus, and R. strykeri) that diverged in the Early Pleistocene[1,2,3]
InterPro classification of the genes from 231 significantly expanded gene families showed significant enrichment (P < 0.01) of these genes in categories involved in DNA repair and damage response (94 genes) and oxidative phosphorylation processes (107 genes) (Supplementary Table 3)
This finding may be related to the increased exposure of snub-nosed monkeys to UV radiation and the potentially increased rate of energy metabolism required for high-altitude survival[14,15,16,17,18]
Summary
Genomic analysis of snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus) identifies genes and processes related to high-altitude adaptation. Genomic scans in the R. bieti and R. roxellana populations identified signatures of selection between and within populations at genes involved in functions relevant to high-altitude adaptation These results provide valuable insights into the adaptation to high altitude in the snub-nosed monkeys. The snub-nosed monkey genus Rhinopithecus (Colobinae) comprises five closely related species (R. bieti, R. roxellana, R. brelichi, R. avunculus, and R. strykeri) that diverged in the Early Pleistocene[1,2,3]. The reference genome of R. roxellana and genomic resequencing data for all species included here, with the exception of R. avunculus, have been previously reported[4] In addition to their conservation value, Rhinopithecus species are unique in the context of adaptive evolution. Received 7 February; accepted 13 June; published online 11 July 2016; doi:10.1038/ng.3615
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