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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Uncovering the secrets of the world’s only frozen fish


Analysis of the the Amur sleeper’s genome and RNA reveal its tricks for surviving the winter frozen in ice.
Portrait of Chinese sleeper (Perccottus glenii) a small predatory fish. Shot in captivity.

The Amur sleeper survives freezing and thawing, in part by slowing its metabolism, new genomic analysis shows. Credit: Getty

The Amur sleeper (Perccottus glenii) is the only fish that can survive being encased in solid ice. It is native to the Amur River drainage of northeastern Asia, where it can spend the winter in a dormant state in small waterbodies that turn entirely to ice.



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Nature 615, 565 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00747-1

References

  1. Jiang, H. et al. Mol. Biol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad040 (2023).

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