Overview
- Researchers published a report in Science on July 9 that combines field sampling from Andean summits with lab experiments and whole-genome data from 167 mice to explain how Phyllotis vaccarum survives above 6,700 meters.
- High-elevation mice produce more body heat and show higher maximal oxygen consumption than lowland conspecifics, driven by increased shivering thermogenesis, active brown fat and mitochondrial changes.
- Genomic analyses link adaptation to pathways that boost cellular energy production and regulate blood vessels rather than to major changes in hemoglobin or structural genomic variants.
- Surprisingly strong selection appears on detoxification genes that help metabolize toxic, tough plants and heavy metals in volcanic soils, showing diet and feeding ecology shaped high‑altitude adaptation.
- Population-genomic results show these adaptive traits persist despite substantial gene flow between highland and lowland populations, and authors say follow-up functional work is needed to test specific mechanisms and biomedical relevance.