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- Title
A single-cell atlas of West African lungfish respiratory system reveals evolutionary adaptations to terrestrialization.
- Authors
Zhang, Ruihua; Liu, Qun; Pan, Shanshan; Zhang, Yingying; Qin, Yating; Du, Xiao; Yuan, Zengbao; Lu, Yongrui; Song, Yue; Zhang, Mengqi; Zhang, Nannan; Ma, Jie; Zhang, Zhe; Jia, Xiaodong; Wang, Kun; He, Shunping; Liu, Shanshan; Ni, Ming; Liu, Xin; Xu, Xun
- Abstract
The six species of lungfish possess both lungs and gills and are the closest extant relatives of tetrapods. Here, we report a single-cell transcriptome atlas of the West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens). This species manifests the most extreme form of terrestrialization, a life history strategy to survive dry periods that can last for years, characterized by dormancy and reversible adaptive changes of the gills and lungs. Our atlas highlights the cell type diversity of the West African lungfish, including gene expression consistent with phenotype changes of terrestrialization. Comparison with terrestrial tetrapods and ray-finned fishes reveals broad homology between the swim bladder and lung cell types as well as shared and idiosyncratic changes of the external gills of the West African lungfish and the internal gills of Atlantic salmon. The single-cell atlas presented here provides a valuable resource for further exploration of the respiratory system evolution in vertebrates and the diversity of lungfish terrestrialization. The water-to-land transition of vertebrates is a landmark event in evolutionary history. This work utilizes single-cell RNA sequencing to explore the adaptations in African lungfish lungs and gills to terrestrialization.
- Subjects
LIFE history theory; RESPIRATORY organs; ACTINOPTERYGII; ATLANTIC salmon; PHENOTYPIC plasticity; RNA sequencing; DORMANCY in plants
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2023, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-41309-3