鲸类次生性水生生活的分子适应机制

Molecular adaptation mechanism of secondary aquatic life in cetaceans

鲸类是哺乳动物进化中一个独特的类群,其祖先从陆地重返海洋的过程中,产生了形态、解剖、生理和生化等方面的一系列进化改变,是研究生物对环境适应分子机制的理想模型.本文简要概述了近年来鲸类次生水生适应的进化遗传学机制研究,包括体型改变、渗透调节、免疫防御、食性转变、感觉系统、低氧耐受等方面.随着组学技术的发展与应用,通过生物信息学分析挖掘基因组学中潜在的适应性进化区域和位点,进而利用细胞与动物模型对其功能效应进行实验验证,为今后全面、系统和深入地揭示鲸类次生性水生适应的分子机制提供了可能.

Cetaceans are a unique group in the history of mammalian evolution owing to a series of evolutionary changes in morphology,anatomy,physiology,biochemistry and other aspects that have been generated during the return to water of their ancestors.Cetaceans therefore are the ideal models for studying the molecular mechanism of adaptation to a new environment.In this paper,the evolutionary genetic mechanisms of secondary aquatic adaptation in cetaceans in recent years are briefly reviewed,including body shape change,osmotic regulation,immune defense,dietary change,sensory system,and hypoxic tolerance.With the development of omics technology and their application,those potential functional regions and sites related to adaptive evolution based on bioinformatics analysis are needed to be tested using cell or animal models.These results will give us new insights into the molecular basis of secondary aquatic adaptation in cetaceans.