Metabolomics on serum levels and liver of male Tupaia belangeri from 12 locations in China by GC–MS

Objectives To investigate adaptive strategies of Tupaia belangeri to environmental factors in different populations, 12 locations were selected, including higher and lower altitude areas. Results Total of 96 and 90 metabolites were annotated in serum and liver respectively, which were mainly concentrated in primary metabolites. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that the locations were divided into two groups in serum metabolites, but each group had a few samples overlap. The samples of each group overlap to some degree in the liver metabolites. The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle occupies a central position in metabolism. The concentrations of TCA intermediates, lipid metabolites and amino acid metabolites were higher in higher altitude areas, and the concentrations of carbohydrate and glycolysis intermediates were higher in lower altitude areas. Conclusions Different areas adapted to the changes of environmental and altitude by regulating the concentration of metabolites in serum and liver, and revealed the adaptive mechanism of T. belangeri in different living environments.