Foreign Media: Chinese scientists have revealed the genetic secrets of the trans-Eurasian migration of wild boars in Central Asia, and uncovered the genetic mechanisms that allow them to adapt to extreme environments.
Researchers found through analyzing 96 high-quality wild boar genomes from East Asia, Central Asia, and Europe that Asian wild boars diverged from their Southeast Asian relatives about 3.6 million years ago, and then the southern and Central Asian wild boar populations gradually differentiated. Central Asian wild boars evolved genetic advantages to adapt to dry and cold environments, including two gene variations related to lipid metabolism, which enhance energy storage capacity, as well as gene mutations related to meat quality, which may explain their robust physique.
These findings not only reconstruct the migration history of wild boars across Eurasia, but also provide natural genetic resources for pig breeding, helping to develop climate-adaptive agriculture.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1840145265997831/
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