A recent study explored the genetic mutations of Tibetan Mastiffs, which were domesticated from Chinese native dogs living in the plans, and found that their genes have evolved for high-altitude survival. The study examined single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs of 32 Tibetan Mastiffs and compared them with 14 grey wolves and 20 Chinese native dogs. Over 120,000 SNPs were identified.

The researchers analyzed 16 genes out of the 120,000 SNPs that underwent positive selection in the mastiffs. Out of these 16, 12 were found to be relevant to high altitude adaption. Similar categories were seen in other high-altitude animals, suggesting that genes can “independently evolve to yield similar phenotypic adaptive responses.”