Comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of Tibetan Schizothoracinae fish Gymnocypris przewalskii reveals how it adapts to a high altitude aquatic life

BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to high altitude life is of paramount importance for preserving and managing genetic diversity in highland animals. This objective has been addressed mainly in terrestrial fauna but rarely in aquatic animals. Tibetan Schizothoracinae fish is the ideal model system in evolutionary biology, carrying key insights into evolutionary genetics of speciation and adaptation at high altitude. Gymnocypris przewalskii is the newly formed Schizothoracinae fish species in the Tibetan Plateau, inhabits chronic cold, extreme saline and alkaline aquatic environment in Lake Qinghai, thus evolving the unique genomic signatures to adapt extremely severe environments. RESULTS: To characterize its genomic features, we assembled de novo transcriptome of G. przewalskii from Lake Qinghai. Intriguingly, by comparative genomic analyses of G. przewalskii and 8 other fish species, we identified potential expansions in gene families related to energy metabolism, transport and developmental functions, possibly underlying the adaptation to these environmental stresses. Through comprehensive molecular evolution analyses, we found that sets of genes controlling mitochondrion, ion homoeostasis, acid-base balance and innate immunity show significant signals of positive selection. Compared to previous studies on highland fishes, we failed to identify any positively selected genes related to hypoxia response. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide comprehensive insights into the genetic basis of teleost fish that underlie their adaptation to extreme high altitude aquatic life on the Tibetan Plateau. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0925-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.