Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40814112›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in zoology2025

Ecometabolomics reveal physiological adaptations of Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans Cantor, 1842) to different environments along an altitudinal gradient.

Mingxue Jiao, Yanghuilin Zhang, Cheng Liu, Zhonghong Cao, Kenneth B Storey, Yonggang Niu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in zoology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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3 · Its place in the literature

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2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mingxue JiaoDepartment of Life Sciences, Dezhou University, Dezhou, 253023, Shandong, China.
Yanghuilin ZhangDepartment of Life Sciences, Dezhou University, Dezhou, 253023, Shandong, China.
Cheng LiuDepartment of Life Sciences, Dezhou University, Dezhou, 253023, Shandong, China.
Zhonghong CaoSchool of Life Sciences and Medicine, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China.
Kenneth B StoreyDepartment of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
Yonggang NiuDepartment of Life Sciences, Dezhou University, Dezhou, 253023, Shandong, China. yonggangniu@126.com.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China No. 32001110
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Animals inhabiting altitudinal gradients exhibit a variety of adaptations to environmental variations. However, to date, changes in metabolomic profiles with altitude have been poorly characterized. Here, we used target and non-target metabolomic analyses of liver to investigate the environmental adaptations of Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans) along an altitudinal gradient (50 m, 1200 m, 2300 m, and 3400 m above sea level). Non-targeted metabolomics analysis identified 775 metabolites, and k-means clustering analysis showed that up-regulated metabolites along the altitudinal gradient were significantly enriched in the thiamine and sphingolipid metabolism pathways. Down-regulated metabolites were mainly enriched in alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism and glycolysis/glycogenesis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis showed that metabolites positively correlated with altitude were mainly related to sphingolipid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism, whereas those negatively correlated were involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and glycerolipid metabolism. Moreover, a total of 52 metabolites were identified by the targeted metabolomics analysis. K-means clustering analysis showed that down-regulated metabolites along the altitudinal gradient were mainly enriched in pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In addition, toads from different altitudes exhibited significant variation in the activities of key metabolic enzymes, including phosphofructokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. In conclusion, the metabolic profiles of Asiatic toads along an altitudinal gradient differed significantly. These findings enhance our understanding of the physiological adaptations of toads to different environments along an altitudinal gradient.

Indexed as

AdaptationAltitudinal gradientBufo gargarizansMetabolomics

Identifiers

PMID40814112
PMCPMC12355875

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