XINING -- A new study has uncovered the substantial impact of altitude on the gut microbiota of the plateau pika, a small mammal, on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west of China, helping to reveal the microbial adaptation mechanism of plateau animals.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (NWIPB) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published in the journal Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with its low oxygen, low temperature and scarcity of food, poses severe challenges to the physiological adaptation of animals -- in which gut microbiota plays a crucial role.

An in-depth exploration of how altitude changes affect the gut microbiota of plateau animals is crucial for uncovering the microbial ecological mechanisms involved in the adaption of animals to plateau environments, according to Qu Jiapeng, NWIPB researcher and leader of the study.

Researchers investigated variations in terms of gut microbial community structure and function in the plateau pika across altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They analysed the structure, function and metabolic characteristics of gut microbiota at different altitudes by using 16S rRNA sequencing and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) content analyses.

The study found that the diversity and complexity of gut microbiota in the plateau pika decreased significantly with increasing altitude, while their high-altitude adaptation was enhanced through enriched gut microbiota and the upregulation of key metabolic pathways.

"The study is not only of significance in discovering the ecological adaptation of the plateau pika, but also sheds light on understanding small mammals' adaptation mechanisms to high-altitude environments," Qu said.