Sheep were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and then spread globally, where they have been encountering various environmental conditions. The Tibetan sheep has adapted to high altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau over the past 3000 years. To explore genomic variants associated with high-altitude adaptation in Tibetan sheep, we analyzed Illumina short-reads of 994 whole genomes representing ∼ 60 sheep breeds/populations at varied altitudes, PacBio High fidelity (HiFi) reads of 13 breeds, and 96 transcriptomes from 12 sheep organs. Association testing between the inhabited altitudes and 34,298,967 variants was conducted to investigate the genetic architecture of altitude adaptation. Highly accurate HiFi reads were used to complement the current ovine reference assembly at the most significantly associated β-globin locus and to validate the presence of two haplotypes A and B among 13 sheep breeds. Of which, the haplotype A carried two homologous gene clusters: (1) HBE1, HBE2, HBB-like, and HBBC, and (2) HBE1-like, HBE2-like, HBB-like, and HBB; while the haplotype B lacked the first cluster. The high-altitude sheep showed highly frequent or nearly fixed haplotype A, while the low-altitude sheep dominated by haplotype B. We further demonstrated that sheep with the haplotype A had an increased hemoglobin (Hb)–O₂ affinity compared to those carrying the haplotype B. Another highly associated genomic region contained the EGLN1 gene which showed a varied expression between high-altitude and low-altitude sheep. Our results provide evidence that the rapid adaptive evolution of advantageous alleles play an important role in facilitating the environmental adaptation of Tibetan sheep.

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a rare disease and the associated esophageal stricture is frequently complicated by the lack of clinical experience. The present study reported a very rare case of DEB in a 37‑year‑old male, who was admitted to Shenzhen Hospital (Shenzhen, China) due to an esophageal stricture. The patient received esophageal dilation under digital subtraction angiography. In this patient, dilation therapy was effective and safe. The patient underwent skin biopsies, and histological examination of the resected tissue specimens confirmed DEB diagnosis. The patient was followed up in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital, for 2 years without any recurrence of esophageal stricture. This is the first case report of dilation therapy in a very rare case of DEB with a satisfactory outcome, but the long‑term efficacy needs further observation. In addition, the latest relevant literature was reviewed and it was found that this treatment is uncommonly reported, as is the condition.

Gut microbes play a crucial role in regulating physiological processes such as host energy metabolism, nutrient absorption, and environmental adaptation. The predicted functions of gut microbes can be influenced by many factors, both extrinsic and intrinsic to the hosts. The plateau pika is a key species in the alpine ecosystem of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Previous research on the plateau pika primarily examined how extrinsic factors affected its gut microbiota. However, studies on intrinsic factors are scarce. Here, we used live-trapping to capture plateau pikas and collect cecum contents. Using metagenomic sequencing of cecum content samples, we characterized and compared the gut microbial composition and predicted function of plateau pika in adult (n = 9) and juvenile (n = 9) populations. The results indicated that Bacillota and Bacteroidete were the major bacterial phyla. The core gut microbial genera were the same, but the relative abundance of Oscillospira in juveniles was significantly lower than that in adults. The changes in the proportion of cellulose-degradation-related bacterial communities in juveniles suggest that they tend to choose low-fiber diets. In this study, we found no significant differences in the gut microbial composition and diversity, KEGG level 1 metabolic pathways, or CAZy class level between adult and juvenile plateau pikas. In total, the composition and predicted functions of cecal microorganisms in juvenile and adult male plateau pikas were not different. Regarding KEGG level 2 metabolic pathways, the juvenile group had a higher relative abundance of metabolic pathways for cofactors and vitamins, terpenoids, and polyketides, whereas the adult group had a higher relative abundance of energy metabolism. However, the resulting differences remain unclear. Therefore, future research should validate the above findings on a broader spatio-temporal scale and conduct cross-species comparisons to construct a microbial ecological framework for the health management of plateau wild animals.