Population genomics provides insights into the evolution and adaptation of tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) in China.

Abstract

Physiological adaptation of tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) to changing environmental temperature has been reported in detail. However, the T. belangeri origin (mainland or island), population history, and adaptation to historical climate change remain largely unknown or controversial. Here, for the first time, we sequenced the simplified genome of 134 T. belangeri individuals from 12 populations in China and further resequenced one individual from each population. Using population genomic approaches, we first observed considerable genetic variation in T. belangeri. Moreover, T. belangeri populations formed obvious genetic structure and reflected different demographic histories; they generally exhibited high genetic diversity, although the isolated populations had relatively low genetic diversity. The results presented in this study indicate that T. b. modesta and T. b. tonquinia were separated recently and with a similar population dynamics. Second, physical barriers rather than distance were the driving factors of divergence, and environmental heterogeneity may play an important role in genetic differentiation in T. belangeri. Moreover, our analyses highlight the role of historical global climates in the T. belangeri population dynamics and indicate that the decrease of the T. belangeri population size may be due to the low temperature. Finally, we identified the olfaction-associated adaptive genes between different altitude populations and found that olfactory-related genes of high-altitude populations were selectively eliminated. Our study provides demographic history knowledge of T. belangeri; their adaption history offers new insights into their evolution and adaptation, and provides valuable baseline information for conservation measures.