Hey friends! Have you ever wondered how animals live in super high places where it’s really cold and there’s not much oxygen? 🌬️❄️ Meet the plateau pika, a small and adorable creature living on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in west China! 🐭⛰️
Scientists have discovered that these pikas have special helpers inside their tummies called gut microbes (tiny organisms that live in their digestive system). These microbes play a big role in helping pikas survive in such tough environments! 😮
Here’s what’s amazing:
- As pikas live higher up the mountains, the variety of their gut microbes changes.
- Even with fewer types of microbes at higher altitudes, the ones they have help them get more energy from their food! 🍃
- These microbes help pikas stay warm and active, even when it’s freezing outside! 🔥
Scientists used a special technique called 16S rRNA sequencing (a method to study tiny microbes) to learn all about these gut helpers. By understanding how pikas adapt to high altitudes, we can learn more about how other animals survive in extreme places too! 🌟
Isn’t nature incredible? Next time you think about mountains, remember the tiny pika and its amazing gut microbes! 🐭❤️
Reference(s):
Study reveals the microbial adaptation mechanism of plateau animals
cgtn.com
