We report the sequencing at 131× coverage, de novo assembly and analyses of the genome of a female Tibetan wild boar. We also resequenced the whole genomes of 30 Tibetan wild boars from six major distributed locations and 18 geographically related pigs in China. We characterized genetic diversity, population structure and patterns of evolution. We searched for genomic regions under selection, which includes genes that are involved in hypoxia, olfaction, energy metabolism and drug response. Comparing the genome of Tibetan wild boar with those of neighboring Chinese domestic pigs further showed the impact of thousands of years of artificial selection and different signatures of selection in wild boar and domestic pig. We also report genetic adaptations in Tibetan wild boar that are associated with high altitudes and characterize the genetic basis of increased salivation in domestic pig.

Wild relatives of crops are an important source of genetic diversity for agriculture, but their gene repertoire remains largely unexplored. We report the establishment and analysis of a pan-genome of Glycine soja, the wild relative of cultivated soybean Glycine max, by sequencing and de novo assembly of seven phylogenetically and geographically representative accessions. Intergenomic comparisons identified lineage-specific genes and genes with copy number variation or large-effect mutations, some of which show evidence of positive selection and may contribute to variation of agronomic traits such as biotic resistance, seed composition, flowering and maturity time, organ size and final biomass. Approximately 80% of the pan-genome was present in all seven accessions (core), whereas the rest was dispensable and exhibited greater variation than the core genome, perhaps reflecting a role in adaptation to diverse environments. This work will facilitate the harnessing of untapped genetic diversity from wild soybean for enhancement of elite cultivars.

The ground tit (Parus humilis) is endemic to the Tibetan plateau. It is a member of family Paridae but it was long thought to be related to the ground jays because of their morphological similarities. Here we present the ground tit's genome and re-sequence two tits and one ground jay, to clarify this controversially taxonomic status and uncover its genetic adaptations to the Tibetan plateau. Our results show that ground tit groups with two tits and it diverges from them between 7.7 and 9.9 Mya. Compared with other avian genomes, ground tit shows expansion in genes linked to energy metabolism and contractions in genes involved in immune and olfactory perception. We also found positively selected and rapidly evolving genes in hypoxia response and skeletal development. These results indicated that ground tit evolves basic strategies and 'tit-to-jay' change for coping with the life in an extreme environment.

Uncovering genetic variation through resequencing is limited by the fact that only sequences with similarity to the reference genome are examined. Reference genomes are often incomplete and cannot represent the full range of genetic diversity as a result of geographical divergence and independent demographic events. To more comprehensively characterize genetic variation of pigs (Sus scrofa), we generated de novo assemblies of nine geographically and phenotypically representative pigs from Eurasia. By comparing them to the reference pig assembly, we uncovered a substantial number of novel SNPs and structural variants, as well as 137.02-Mb sequences harboring 1737 protein-coding genes that were absent in the reference assembly, revealing variants left by selection. Our results illustrate the power of whole-genome de novo sequencing relative to resequencing and provide valuable genetic resources that enable effective use of pigs in both agricultural production and biomedical research.

Pleistocene climate fluctuations shaped the patterns of genetic diversity observed in extant species. In contrast to Europe and North America where the effects of recent glacial cycles on genetic diversity have been well studied, the genetic legacy of the Late Pleistocene for East Asia, a region of great topographical complexity and presumably milder historical climate, remains poorly understood. We analysed 3.86 kb of the mitochondrial genome of 186 Chinese Hwamei birds, Leucodioptron canorum canorum, and found that contrary to the conventional expectation of population decline during cold periods (stadials), the demographic history of this species shows continuous population growth since the penultimate glacial period (about 170,000 years ago). Refugia were identified in the south, coastal regions, and northern inland areas, implying that topographic complexity played a substantial role in providing suitable habitats for the Chinese Hwamei during cold periods. Intermittent gene flow between these refugia during the warmer periods (interstadials) might have resulted in a large effective population of this bird through the last glacial period.