Tibetan antelopes are seen on a grassland of Nagqu City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, December 5, 2024. /CFP

Additionally, the genome can be used to??study the relationships between different Tibetan antelope populations,??which are crucial for designing appropriate protected area boundaries??and planning cross-regional conservation efforts, according to Zhang.

Starting??from 2022, the joint research team have conducted extensive field??surveys and monitoring of the antelopes and assembled their??chromosome-level genome through the third-generation sequencing??technology.

The genome research of the Tibetan antelope also provides a fresh perspective on the conservation of plateau biodiversity.

From??a genetic perspective, the Tibetan antelope genome data fills an??important gap in the study of the subfamily Caprinae species, offering??valuable resources to understand how highland species cope with extreme??environmental pressures.

"Through comparative analysis of the??genomes of other Caprinae species, such as the bharal and domestic??sheep, we can trace the evolutionary history of the Tibetan antelope and??reveal how it has co-evolved with the highland environment over??millions of years," said Zhang.

"These findings not only deepen??our understanding of the species evolution mechanisms, but also provide??references for further exploration of the adaptability of other highland??species," he said.

A pack of Tibetan antelopes are on a??grassland in Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest??China's Qinghai Province, October 28, 2024. /CFP

The Tibetan antelope, with its light tan??fur, grayish-white face and broad mouth, lives in Changtang National??Nature Reserve in the Xizang Autonomous Region, Hoh Xil National Nature??Reserve in Qinghai Province, and Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve??in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at altitudes ranging from 3,700??to 5,500 meters. The three regions are adjacent to one another.

The??fine underfur of Tibetan antelopes was so sought after that poaching in??the 1980s and 1990s threatened the future of the species. In 1995, the??population of the Tibetan antelope was reduced to around 50,000 to??75,000.

The number of Tibetan antelope in Xizang has now increased??to more than 300,000, and their protection status has been downgraded??from "endangered" to "near threatened," according to data from the??region's ecology and environment department.