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Home→Wild Cat Species→Snow leopard→Snow Leopard Genetic Mutation

Snow Leopard Genetic Mutation

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Snow leopards carry a genetic mutation of genes: EGLN1 and EPAS1 that help the cat live at high altitude1.

[Note: this is a test page to check page load speeds – although it does have real and new information.]

Apparently Tibetan people have the same mutation.

EGLN1 is linked to the response of cells in the body to hypoxia. Hypoxia is a condition where parts of the body have a lack of oxygen2.

It seems that the mutation allows the body at a cellular level to cope better with low oxygen levels in the air.

I suggested years ago that the snow leopard eats a certain plant – Tamarix parviflora – to improve oxygen transportation in haemoglobin. If I am correct the snow leopard has a least two adaptations to living 3,000 and 5,500 metres above sea level.

The highest mountain in the European Union is Mont Blanc at 4810 meters.

Ref: (1) sciencenews.org (2) Wikipedia.

Comments

Snow Leopard Genetic Mutation — 5 Comments

  1. This page loaded quickly for me and it’s very interesting too. it’s no good denying that we are animals because we are and the only evil animals on this earth at that!
    One thing for sure we who are alive now won’t be around to find out if we can live under water lol

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    • I’d like to see whether some people can live under water, now 😉 LOL. It would be a lengthy test and I expect it to fail.

      I am pleased the page loaded quickly. I am testing what elements of the site slow down page load.

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  2. Wow – humans share the same exact mutation. Just goes to show the power of physical, biological adaptation in animals – it’s amazing to think that over time we could probably adapt to going under water from whence we came!

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    • …for now though, as an emergency measure, since we don’t have enough time to evolve into space, the human race should go under a rock, or underwater, and not come out again until the earth has restored itself.

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    • Nice point. We did adapt (in respect of this gene and people at high altitude) in the same way as a cat. It should confirm that we (humans) are animals. It is taboo to say that. You have got my imagination running. If the earth dies in 1.5 billion years time which is predicted and if the human is still around then (unlikely) what will human look like and be doing? Maybe if the planet heats up we might evolve back into water-living creatures.

      I could go on imagining all kinds of images. What of the domestic cat that is so close to the wild cats genetically? Perhaps the domestic cat will revert to the wild and become the only wild cat species extant on the planet in one billion years time (or much sooner).

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