Morphological adaptations of yak (Bos grunniens) tongue to the foraging environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau1
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Using light and scanning electron microscopy, the morphological adaptations of the yak (Bos grunniens) tongue to its foraging environment in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were studied. The tongue of the yak was compared with that of cattle (Bos taurus). Compared with cattle, yak tongues are on average 4 cm shorter (P < 0.001), and yak consume forages using the labia oris, rather than by extending the tongue into the harsh environment. The lingual prominence of yak is greater (P < 0.001) and more developed than in cattle. The conical papillae on the prominence surface of yak are slightly larger (diameter: P = 0.068 and height: P = 0.761) and more numerous (P < 0.001) than in cattle. The lenticular papillae on the prominence surface of yak are larger (diameter: P = 0.002 and height: P = 0.115) and more numerous (P = 0.007) than in cattle. Such characteristics may improve the digestibility of forage by the grinding of food between the tongue and the upper palate. Filiform, conical, lenticular, fungiform, and vallate papillae were observed on the dorsal surface of the tongues studied; no foliate papillae were observed. The papillae were covered by keratinized epithelium, which was thicker (P < 0.001) in the yak than in cattle. It is suggested that the development of characteristic filiform papillae, and more numerous lingual gland ducts and mucus-secreting pores in the lenticular, fungiform and vallate papillae, fungiform papillae, probably having mechanical functions, are all morphological adaptations by yak to diets with greater fiber and DM content as provided by the plants within the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau environment. On average, yak has 26 vallate papillae and cattle have 28. In the vallate papillae of the yak, the taste buds are arranged in a monolayer within the epithelium, whereas they are multilayered (2 to 4) in those papillae in cattle. The number of taste buds in each vallate papillae was less (P < 0.001) in the yak than in cattle. Therefore, the gustatory function of the yak was weaker than in cattle. Yaks graze throughout the year on diverse natural grasslands and have evolved morphological characteristics enabling them to consume a wide variety of plant species, thereby better adapting them to the typically harsh characteristics of their pastures.
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Yaks have numerous anatomical and physiological traits that equip them for life at high altitude, including large lungs and hearts, lack of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, increased foraging ability, strong environmental sense and high energy metabolism.
“Yaks have numerous anatomical and physiological traits that equip them for life at high altitude, including large lungs and hearts 1 , lack of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction 5 , increased foraging ability 6 , strong environmental sense 1 and high energy metabolism 1,7 .”
From The yak genome and adaptation to life at high altitude (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
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The yak genome and adaptation to life at high altitude
Qiu, Q., Zhang, G., Ma, T., Qian, W., Wang, J., Ye, Z., Cao, C., Hu, Q., Kim, J., Larkin, D. M., et al. (2012) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng.2343 · Cited by 971 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Shao, B., Long, R., Ding, Y., Wang, J., Ding, L., & Wang, H.
- Affiliations
- Lanzhou University (CN)
- Northwest Normal University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Long, R.
- Venue
- Journal of Animal Science
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-08-01
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 2594-2603
- ISSN
- 0021-8812 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-3163
- OpenAlex
- W1970500155
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 3.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- ir.lzu.edu.cn
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Journal of Animal Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lanzhou University Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Urology › Comparative Animal Anatomy Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Livestock Farming and Management
- Keywords
- yak, cattle, tongue papillae, tongue length, vallate papillae, taste buds, high-altitude adaptation, Tibetan Plateau, forage digestibility
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Biological, Animals, Cattle, Eating, Environment, Epithelium, Female, Keratins, Lingual Frenum, Male, Microscopy, Electron, Scanning, Organ Size, Tongue, Tibet
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