A draft genome of Drung cattle reveals clues to its chromosomal fusion and environmental adaptation

Abstract

Drung cattle (Bos frontalis) have 58 chromosomes, differing from the Bos taurus 2n = 60 karyotype. To date, its origin and evolution history have not been proven conclusively, and the mechanisms of chromosome fusion and environmental adaptation have not been clearly elucidated. Here, we assembled a high integrity and good contiguity genome of Drung cattle with 13.7-fold contig N50 and 4.1-fold scaffold N50 improvements over the recently published Indian mithun assembly, respectively. Speciation time estimation and phylogenetic analysis showed that Drung cattle diverged from Bos taurus into an independent evolutionary clade. Sequence evidence of centromere regions provides clues to the breakpoints in BTA2 and BTA28 centromere satellites. We furthermore integrated a circulation and contraction-related biological process involving 43 evolutionary genes that participated in pathways associated with the evolution of the cardiovascular system. These findings may have important implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms of chromosome fusion, alpine valleys adaptability and cardiovascular function.

Integrated genomic, transcriptomic, and methylomic data from the endangered Drung cattle (Bos frontalis) provide further insight into its unique physiology and adaptation to alpine environments.