He doesn’t breathe oxygen. And yet he lives … and it’s not clear where he gets his energy from.
It must be remembered that all plants and animals – until today, at least – have in common that they cannot do without oxygen. This gas generates a “fuel” called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which makes the cell work, through the internal structures of the latter which are the mitochondria.
But we now know an exception, which does not have mitochondria, or at least whose essential genes of the mitochondria are no longer there, which means that this creature does not have the capacity to connect to the surrounding oxygen: Henneguya salminicola, a member of the family of cnidarians, close cousin of the jellyfish and parasite of the salmon. A team of biologists from three countries (United States, Israel, France) described this unusual feature in the review PNAS.
We know of microorganisms that can do without oxygen – and in which the mitochondria lost all or part of its genome. But it may be microscopic, Henneguya salminicola is an animal.
If we know one, could there be others? It is possible that the key or the fact that it is a parasite: by infecting other animals, perhaps it succeeds in “importing” ATP from its host. But this is pure speculation: a closer analysis of his genome may solve the puzzle.
Other content:
–
