The First Animal Ever Found That Doesn't Need Oxygen to Survive
Scientists discovered Henneguya salminicola, a jellyfish-like parasite surviving without oxygen inside salmon. This challenges oxygen-dependency beliefs, shedding light on anaerobic metabolism evolution and life's adaptability to extreme conditions.
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Scientists have discovered a jellyfish-like parasite, Henneguya salminicola, that is the first multicellular organism known to survive without oxygen. This cnidarian parasite lacks a mitochondrial genome and the capacity for aerobic respiration, living in hypoxic conditions inside its host salmon. The organism has evolved mitochondria-related organelles with unique characteristics, indicating a genetic simplification over time. This finding challenges the belief that multicellular life requires oxygen to survive and has implications for understanding the evolution of anaerobic metabolism. The research, led by Dayana Yahalomi of Tel Aviv University, sheds light on how life can adapt to extreme environments and offers insights into the transition from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. While the parasite is harmless to humans, the discovery could impact fisheries managing salmon infected with these unique organisms. Published in PNAS, this study opens new avenues for exploring the diversity of life forms and their metabolic adaptations.
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17 commentsNot needing oxygen would mean a pretty dramatic shift in a whole lot of biochemistry. Maybe that's exactly what has happened, but from this article, it sounds more like they evolved to tolerate very low oxygen, and also they use the host for a lot of necessary functions (common in parasites) and so have lost some unnecessary complexity.
I could see one of them becoming the next humans if we wipe ourselves out.
Funny that this article from 21 June 2024 is the one finally gaining traction.
I did a quick search but without luck.
Between this and the images I realize that I can still be mentally 12 at times.
By ditching the need for oxygen I wonder what these critters use for energy? I'd imagine their parasitism is related...
A really interesting article, but I'm not sure if that statement above is really universaly true.
In Japan they'd probably make sushi out of them... 8-)
This sounds like a very interesting candidate organism to bring to Mars in the future...
* "Multicellular life needs oxygen to live." * "They break down oxygen to produce a molecule called adenosine triphosphate..."
We don't really understand the mechanism that spawns life, so we can't say we understand its requirements.
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