Could this Tibetan snake provide the answer to altitude sickness?
Serpent that survives in hot springs on world’s highest plateau found to have same genetic mutation as local human population
Chinese scientists are hoping that new research into how a rare type of snake manages to survive on the Tibetan plateau will one day help them find a way to prevent altitude sickness in humans.
According to the study, the Bailey’s, or hot-spring, snake shares the same adapted gene found in humans who live at extreme altitudes, and which helps blood cells to carry more oxygen around the body.
“The genetic mechanisms of how animals – both cold- and warm-blooded – adapt to extreme environments will play a key role in preventing and treating humans affected by high-altitude disease,” said Li Jiatang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the lead scientists on the study.
The research, which was published last week in the American scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was the first to show how cold-blooded animals adjusted to life on the roof of the world, he said.
As its name suggests, the snake at the centre of the study lives in hot springs and swamp meadows at altitudes of 3,500 to 4,400 metres (roughly 11,500 to 14,400 feet) on the world’s highest plateau.
The research found that through its evolutionary history the serpent has undergone mutations to its EPAS1 gene to protect it against high ultraviolet radiation and low levels of oxygen. While the EPAS1 gene is found in all humans, a similar adaptation to that found in the snake was also earlier discovered in people who live at altitude.