International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 19-29 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmec 20 adaptive potential by "borrowing" genes from other species (Ricard et al., 2006; Sun et al., 2015). Structural variation provides rich raw materials for goats to adapt to environmental pressure by causing profound changes in genome structure, and its importance is increasingly valued in the fields of evolutionary biology and population genetics (Bian et al., 2024). This study will analyze the main phenotypic characteristics and genetic basis of goats' excellent environmental adaptability, summarize the new discoveries of HGT in the field of goat adaptive evolution and the research progress of SV affecting goat adaptability, and further discuss the synergistic effect between HGT and SV and its significance to goat evolution. In addition, the application of HGT and SV research results to goat genetic improvement, protection and future research directions will be prospected, and the core insights and future challenges in this field will be emphasized in the conclusion. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the genetic adaptation mechanism of goats in extreme environments, and also provides a reference for future functional breeding and gene resource development. 2 Characteristics of Environmental Adaptability of Goats And Their Genetic Basis 2.1 Characteristics of environmental adaptability of goats Goats are known as "poor people's cattle" because of their excellent adaptability. They can survive and reproduce in a variety of extreme environments and have an irreplaceable position in agricultural production. From the hot and arid deserts of Africa (such as Boer goats) and the Middle East, to the cold and oxygen-deficient mountainous areas of the Asian plateau (such as Tibetan goats and Inner Mongolia goats), to the rainy and humid pastures of Europe (such as Angora goats), local goat breeds in various places have formed a wealth of adaptive traits (Figure 1) (Wang et al., 2016). These adaptive traits include: broad-spectrum diet and efficient cellulose digestion in nutrient-poor environments, thirst tolerance and water metabolism efficiency in water-scarce environments, heat stress resistance and efficient heat dissipation mechanism in hot environments, thick and dense fur (such as down) and heat preservation ability in cold environments, and hypoxia tolerance and special physiological regulation ability in high-altitude environments. Genetic studies have shown that these adaptive traits of goats are closely related to multiple genetic variations in their genomes (Peng et al., 2024a). Figure 1 Different breeds of goats (Adopted from Wang et al., 2016) By conducting whole-genome selection scans and landscape genomics analysis of goat breeds in different regions around the world, researchers have identified many candidate genes and functional pathways related to local environmental adaptation. For example, a study compared the genomic differences of 51 indigenous goat breeds in different climatic zones and found that about 74 candidate genes were enriched in energy metabolism, endocrine regulation, circadian rhythm and heat stress, reflecting the selective effect of climate factors on the goat genome. These findings show the genetic basis of goats' adaptation to diverse environmental pressures (such as temperature, humidity and nutrition), and are natural "laboratories" (Peng et al., 2024a).
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