本期Nature Communications发表了东北虎的第一个完整基因组序列以及来自白色孟加拉虎、非洲狮、白色非洲狮和雪豹的基因组序列。比较分析突显了与它们的肉食性和肌肉力量都相一致的基因组特征。这些序列为研究大型猫科动物的遗传多样性和保守性提供了一个宝贵的资源。
老虎是世界上最大的猫科动物，被预测如果不采取有效保护措施的话很快就会灭绝。野生老虎种群（目前估计总数不超过4000只）的保护现在是动物保护工作者的一大目标。Jong Bhak及同事发表了第一个老虎基因组序列，这是利用来自韩国爱宝乐园动物园的一只9岁老虎的DNA获得的；他们同时还对另外四种豹属动物的基因组进行了测序，目的是更好地了解大型猫科动物对掠食性生活方式的适应情况以及它们的演化。
通过对包括老虎、人类、狗和小鼠在内的基因组进行比较分析，该研究小组识别出了能够体现肉食习性的大型猫科动物特有的1376个基因，并为在肌肉收缩和肌动蛋白细胞骨架中所涉及的基因的迅速演化提供了证据。该小组还识别出在雪豹对高海拔适应性中可能起重要作用的两个候选基因，同时还在白狮子中发现了一个潜在的毛色基因。(生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐的英文摘要
Nature Communications doi:10.1038/ncomms3433
The tiger genome and comparative analysis with lion and snow leopard genomes
Yun Sung Cho,Li Hu,Haolong Hou,Hang Lee,Jiaohui Xu, Soowhan Kwon,Sukhun Oh, Hak-Min Kim,Sungwoong Jho, Sangsoo Kim,Young-Ah Shin,Byung Chul Kim, Hyunmin Kim,Chang-uk Kim,Shu-Jin Luo,Warren E. Johnson,Klaus-Peter Koepfli,Anne Schmidt-Küntzel,Jason A. Turner, Laurie Marker et al.
Tigers and their close relatives (Panthera) are some of the world’s most endangered species. Here we report the de novo assembly of an Amur tiger whole-genome sequence as well as the genomic sequences of a white Bengal tiger, African lion, white African lion and snow leopard. Through comparative genetic analyses of these genomes, we find genetic signatures that may reflect molecular adaptations consistent with the big cats’ hypercarnivorous diet and muscle strength. We report a snow leopard-specific genetic determinant in EGLN1 (Met39>Lys39), which is likely to be associated with adaptation to high altitude. We also detect a TYR260G>A mutation likely responsible for the white lion coat colour. Tiger and cat genomes show similar repeat composition and an appreciably conserved synteny. Genomic data from the five big cats provide an invaluable resource for resolving easily identifiable phenotypes evident in very close, but distinct, species.
