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Early gills exchanged ions before hosting gas transfer

During evolution, key physiological changes enabled vertebrates to achieve a more active lifestyle. A comparison between living animals challenges current ideas on the timing of one such change in our ancestors.
  1. Dorit Hockman

    1. Dorit Hockman is in the Department of Human Biology, Division of Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa.

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Gas exchange and ion regulation are vital biological processes. In vertebrates, gas exchange transfers life-supporting oxygen to the blood from the air and removes carbon dioxide. Ion regulation controls the movement of essential ions, such as sodium and calcium, into and out of cells. The relative levels of ions regulate the pH in cells, affecting cellular function. Changes in how these functions were performed were crucial to the evolution of modern vertebrates, but the timing and nature of the changes remain unclear. Writing in Nature, Sackville et al.1 provide insights that adjust some major pieces in this puzzle.

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Nature 610, 637-638 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03220-7

References

  1. Sackville, M. A., Cameron, C. B., Gillis, J. A. & Brauner, C. J. Nature 610, 699–703 (2022).

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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