Life in Deserts: The Genetic Basis of Mammalian Desert Adaptation

• Published in: Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2021-07, Vol.36 (7), p.637-650
• Main Authors: Rocha, Joana L., Godinho, Raquel, Brito, José C., Nielsen, Rasmus
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adaptation; desert; genomics; mammals; physiology
• ISSN: 0169-5347; 1872-8383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.03.007

Deserts are among the harshest environments on Earth. The multiple ages of different deserts and their global distribution provide a unique opportunity to study repeated adaptation at different timescales. Here, we summarize recent genomic research on the genetic mechanisms underlying desert adaptations in mammals. Several studies on different desert mammals show large overlap in functional classes of genes and pathways, consistent with the complexity and variety of phenotypes associated with desert adaptation to water and food scarcity and extreme temperatures. However, studies of desert adaptation are also challenged by a lack of accurate genotype–phenotype–environment maps. We encourage development of systems that facilitate functional analyses, but also acknowledge the need for more studies on a wider variety of desert mammals. The genomics of adaptation to deserts is a rapidly growing research field that provides examples of adaptation over different timescales and of vastly different organisms facing shared challenges.Mammals inhabiting deserts show remarkable adaptive traits that have evolved repeatedly and independently in different species across the globe and in response to similar selective pressures of extreme temperatures, aridity, and water and food deprivation.Genomic studies have shown that there are shared patterns of adaptation at the genomic level involving fat metabolism and insulin signaling, as well as arachidonic acid metabolism.Understanding the mechanisms by which species have successfully adapted to the physical and climatic challenges of deserts is important for evaluating the possibility of evolutionary rescue of species currently challenged by increased desertification.