Several species of fish have adapted to harsh environments using the same mechanism, which brings to question evolutionary chance, according to a study by Kansas State University and Washington State University.
Several species of fish have adapted to harsh environments using the same mechanism, which brings to question evolutionary chance, according to a study by Kansas State University and Washington State University.
Michi Tobler, associate professor, Ryan Greenway, May 2019 doctoral graduate, and Nick Barts, doctoral student, all in the Division of Biology; Joanna Kelley, associate professor at Washington State University; and many additional collaborators recently published an article about repeated adaptations to extreme environments in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We are trying to understand how evolution and adaptation work," Tobler said. "We stumbled across these fish living in this highly toxic water. It is so toxic that it kills most other living things by binding to an enzyme in the mitochondria — the powerhouse of cells — and shuts off energy production at the cellular level."
The streams have high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, a gas that is naturally dissolved in the water. Tobler and his collaborators found at least 10 different lineages of fish that have adapted to live in the extreme environment.
Read more at: Kansas State University
Kansas State University and Washington State University biologists study fish capable of living in water with highly toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide. (Photo Credit: Kansas State University)
