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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2022, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (8): 635-654.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.22-108

• Special Section: Excellent Doctoral Thesis • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution: the example of adaptation to high altitudes

Yan Hao1, Fumin Lei1,2,3()   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
  • Received:2022-04-13 Revised:2022-06-25 Online:2022-08-20 Published:2022-07-19
  • Contact: Lei Fumin E-mail:leifm@ioz.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Nos(32100332, 3213000355);the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) Program No(2019QZKK0304);the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST No(2021QNRC001);the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation No(2021M700144)

Abstract:

Since Darwin’s time, elucidating the mechanism of adaptive evolution has been one of the most important scientific issues in evolutionary biology and ecology. Adaptive evolution usually means that species evolve special phenotypic traits to increase fitness under selective pressures. Phenotypic adaptation can be observed at different hierarchical levels of morphology, physiology, biochemistry, histology, and behavior. With the breakthroughs of molecular biology and next-generation sequencing technologies, mounting evidence has uncovered the genetic architecture driving adaptive complex phenotypes. Studying the molecular genetic mechanisms of evolutionary adaption will enable us to understand the forces shaping biodiversity and set up genotype-phenotype-environment interactions. Genetic bases of adaptive evolution have been explained by multiple hypotheses, including major-effect genes, supergenes, polygenicity, noncoding regions, repeated regions, and introgression. The strong selection pressure exerted by high-altitude extreme environments greatly promotes the occurrence of phenotypic and genetic adaptation in species. Studies on multi-omics data provide new insights into adaptive evolution. In this review, we systematically summarize the genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution, research progress in adaptation to high-altitude environmental conditions, and existing challenges and discuss the future perspectives, thereby providing guidance for researchers in this field.

Key words: phenotype, noncoding region, multi-omics, regulation, high altitudes