Sika deer are known to prefer oak leaves, which are rich in tannins and toxic to most mammals; however, the genetic mechanisms underlying their unique ability to adapt to living in the jungle are still unclear. In identifying the mechanism responsible for the tolerance of a highly toxic diet, we have made a major advancement in the elucidation of the genomics of sika deer. We generated the first high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly of sika deer and measured the correlation between tannin intake and RNA expression in 15 tissues through 180 experiments. Comparative genome analyses showed that the UGT and CYP gene families are functionally involved in the adaptation of sika deer to high-tannin food, especially the expansion of UGT genes in a subfamily. The first chromosome-level assembly and genetic characterization of the tolerance toa highly toxic diet suggest that the sika deer genome will serve as an essential resource for understanding evolutionary events and tannin adaptation. Our study provides a paradigm of comparative expressive genomics that can be applied to the study of unique biological features in non-model animals.
, View ORCID ProfileCheng Ai, View ORCID ProfileTianjiao Wang, View ORCID ProfileYang Li, View ORCID ProfileHuitao Liu, View ORCID ProfilePengfei Hu, View ORCID ProfileGuiwu Wang, View ORCID ProfileHuamiao Liu, View ORCID ProfileHongliang Wang, View ORCID ProfileRanran Zhang, View ORCID ProfileJunjun Zheng, View ORCID ProfileXiaobo Wang, View ORCID ProfileLei Wang, View ORCID ProfileYuxiao Chang, View ORCID ProfileQian Qian, View ORCID ProfileJinghua Yu, View ORCID ProfileLixin Tang, View ORCID ProfileShigang Wu, View ORCID ProfileXiujuan Shao, View ORCID ProfileAlun Li, View ORCID ProfilePeng Cui, View ORCID ProfileWei Zhan, View ORCID ProfileSheng Zhao, View ORCID ProfileZhichao Wu, View ORCID ProfileXiqun Shao, View ORCID ProfileYimeng Dong, View ORCID ProfileMin Rong, View ORCID ProfileYihong Tan, View ORCID ProfileXuezhe Cui, View ORCID ProfileShuzhuo Chang, View ORCID ProfileXingchao Song, View ORCID ProfileTongao Yang, View ORCID ProfileLimin Sun, View ORCID ProfileYan Ju, View ORCID ProfilePei Zhao, View ORCID ProfileHuanhuan Fan, View ORCID ProfileYing Liu, View ORCID ProfileXinhui Wang, View ORCID ProfileWanyun Yang, View ORCID ProfileMin Yang, View ORCID ProfileTao Wei, View ORCID ProfileShanshan Song, View ORCID ProfileJiaping Xu, View ORCID ProfileZhigang Yue, View ORCID ProfileQiqi Liang, View ORCID ProfileChunyi Li, View ORCID ProfileJue Ruan, View ORCID ProfileFuhe Yang
