Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii
Abstract Extreme environmental conditions at high altitude, such as hypobaric hypoxia, low temperature, and strong UV radiation, pose a great challenge to the survival of animals. Although the mechanisms of adaptation to high-altitude environments have attracted much attention for native plateau spe...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMC
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Zoology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-023-00513-z |
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| author | Xuejing Zhang Shengkang Men Lun Jia Xiaolong Tang Kenneth B. Storey Yonggang Niu Qiang Chen |
| author_facet | Xuejing Zhang Shengkang Men Lun Jia Xiaolong Tang Kenneth B. Storey Yonggang Niu Qiang Chen |
| author_sort | Xuejing Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Extreme environmental conditions at high altitude, such as hypobaric hypoxia, low temperature, and strong UV radiation, pose a great challenge to the survival of animals. Although the mechanisms of adaptation to high-altitude environments have attracted much attention for native plateau species, the underlying metabolic regulation remains unclear. Here, we used a multi-platform metabolomic analysis to compare metabolic profiles of liver between high- and low-altitude populations of toad-headed lizards, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. A total of 191 differential metabolites were identified, consisting of 108 up-regulated and 83 down-regulated metabolites in high-altitude lizards as compared with values for low-altitude lizards. Pathway analysis revealed that the significantly different metabolites were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. Most intermediary metabolites of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle were not significantly altered between the two altitudes, but most free fatty acids as well as β-hydroxybutyric acid were significantly lower in the high-altitude population. This may suggest that high-altitude lizards rely more on carbohydrates as their main energy fuel rather than lipids. Higher levels of phospholipids occurred in the liver of high-altitude populations, suggesting that membrane lipids may undergo adaptive remodeling in response to low-temperature stress at high altitude. In summary, this study demonstrates that metabolic profiles differ substantially between high- and low-altitude lizard populations, and that these differential metabolites and metabolic pathways can provide new insights to reveal mechanisms of adaptation to extreme environments at high altitude. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:38:46Z |
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| id | doaj.art-8009270f4f454b03aa02681a7393b9fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1742-9994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:38:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Zoology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8009270f4f454b03aa02681a7393b9fd2023-11-05T12:25:29ZengBMCFrontiers in Zoology1742-99942023-11-0120111210.1186/s12983-023-00513-zComparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangaliiXuejing Zhang0Shengkang Men1Lun Jia2Xiaolong Tang3Kenneth B. Storey4Yonggang Niu5Qiang Chen6School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Lanzhou UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Lanzhou UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Lanzhou UniversityDepartment of Biology, Carleton UniversityDepartment of Life Sciences, Dezhou UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Lanzhou UniversityAbstract Extreme environmental conditions at high altitude, such as hypobaric hypoxia, low temperature, and strong UV radiation, pose a great challenge to the survival of animals. Although the mechanisms of adaptation to high-altitude environments have attracted much attention for native plateau species, the underlying metabolic regulation remains unclear. Here, we used a multi-platform metabolomic analysis to compare metabolic profiles of liver between high- and low-altitude populations of toad-headed lizards, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. A total of 191 differential metabolites were identified, consisting of 108 up-regulated and 83 down-regulated metabolites in high-altitude lizards as compared with values for low-altitude lizards. Pathway analysis revealed that the significantly different metabolites were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. Most intermediary metabolites of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle were not significantly altered between the two altitudes, but most free fatty acids as well as β-hydroxybutyric acid were significantly lower in the high-altitude population. This may suggest that high-altitude lizards rely more on carbohydrates as their main energy fuel rather than lipids. Higher levels of phospholipids occurred in the liver of high-altitude populations, suggesting that membrane lipids may undergo adaptive remodeling in response to low-temperature stress at high altitude. In summary, this study demonstrates that metabolic profiles differ substantially between high- and low-altitude lizard populations, and that these differential metabolites and metabolic pathways can provide new insights to reveal mechanisms of adaptation to extreme environments at high altitude.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-023-00513-zHigh altitudeMetabolomicsAdaptationPhrynocephalus vlangalii |
| spellingShingle | Xuejing Zhang Shengkang Men Lun Jia Xiaolong Tang Kenneth B. Storey Yonggang Niu Qiang Chen Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii Frontiers in Zoology High altitude Metabolomics Adaptation Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title | Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title_full | Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title_fullStr | Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title_short | Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high-altitude adaptations in a toad-headed viviparous lizard, Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| title_sort | comparative metabolomics analysis reveals high altitude adaptations in a toad headed viviparous lizard phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| topic | High altitude Metabolomics Adaptation Phrynocephalus vlangalii |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-023-00513-z |
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