Deer family is one of the most abundant mammalian families in the world. Deer species are distributed in wide geographic ranges including the North Pole, tropical regions and high-altitude mountains. Of these deer species, China accounts for more than 40% of them and is the main site for deer evolution. Besides the common phenotypical attributes for ruminants, deer family is evolved to possess the unique head gears with periodic regeneration, i.e. antlers. It is currently well accepted that deer is a very valuable model for the studies of ecology, behavior, evolution and biology, especially for the study of mammalian organ regeneration. Reference deer genome is the basis for systematically illustrating deer evolution, deciphering unique biological attributes of deer species, and is significant in protection and utilization of deer genetic resources. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the field of deer genome research, including data of deer genetic variation, molecular basis of adaptive evolution, and key genes and functional genomics involved in deer antler origin and evolution. The overall aim of the paper is to provide the reference neccessary for in depth investigation of deer species.
鹿科动物是世界上最丰富的大型哺乳动物之一,在极北地区、热带地区和高海拔地区都有分布。中国占世界鹿科动物40%以上,是鹿科动物进化的主战场。鹿科动物除了具有反刍动物常见的独特表型特征外,更是进化出周期性再生新器官——鹿茸角。鹿科动物是研究生态学、行为学和进化生物学非常有价值的动物模型,特别是在研究哺乳动物器官再生方面具有重要科学价值。鹿基因组是系统阐述鹿的进化和演变,解析鹿科动物独特生物学性状的依据,对遗传资源保护和利用具有重要意义。目前,随着鹿科动物参考基因组的不断完善,在鹿基础科学研究上取得了诸多重要成果。本文详细综述了鹿科动物基因组学研究进展,主要包括鹿遗传变异数据、适应性进化分子基础、独特性状鹿茸角的起源进化关键基因和功能基因组学,以期为鹿科动物的深入研究奠定理论基础。.
Keywords: adaptive evolution; cervids; deer genome; functional genomic; genetic variation; velvet antler.