Cho Boongho, Jang Sook-Jin, Hwang Hee-Seung, Kim Taewon
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.
Department of Ocean Sciences, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea.
Biology (Basel). 2024 Nov 21;13(12):956. doi: 10.3390/biology13120956.
Organisms occupy diverse ecological niches worldwide, each with characteristics finely evolved for their environments. Crustaceans residing in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, recognized as one of Earth's extreme environments, may have adapted to withstand severe conditions, including elevated temperatures and pressure. This study compares the exoskeletons of two vent crustaceans (bythograeid crab sp. and squat lobster ) with four coastal species (Asian paddle crabs, blue crab, hermit crab, and mantis shrimp) to identify traits influenced by vent environments. The goal was to identify distinctive exoskeletal characteristics commonly observed in vent crustaceans, resulting from their exposure to severe abiotic factors, including elevated temperatures and pressures, found in vent environments. Results show that the exoskeletons of vent crustaceans demonstrated significantly enhanced thermal stability compared to coastal species. These vent crustaceans consistently featured exoskeletons characterized by a reduced proportion of volatile components, such as water, and an increased proportion of CaCO, compared with coastal crustaceans. Furthermore, vent crustaceans lacked carotenoid pigments that had low heat resistance. However, no apparent differences were observed in the mechanical properties. Our findings suggest that the similar composition of exoskeletons in vent crustaceans evolved convergently to withstand high temperatures.
生物在全球占据着多样的生态位，每个生态位都有针对其环境精细演化出的特征。生活在深海热液喷口的甲壳类动物，这里被认为是地球上极端环境之一，它们可能已经适应了承受包括高温和高压在内的恶劣条件。本研究比较了两种喷口甲壳类动物（深海蟹属某种和铠甲虾）与四种沿海物种（亚洲招潮蟹、蓝蟹、寄居蟹和螳螂虾）的外骨骼，以确定受喷口环境影响的特征。目标是识别在喷口甲壳类动物中常见的独特外骨骼特征，这些特征是由于它们暴露于喷口环境中发现的包括高温和高压在内的严重非生物因素而产生的。结果表明，与沿海物种相比，喷口甲壳类动物的外骨骼表现出显著增强的热稳定性。与沿海甲壳类动物相比，这些喷口甲壳类动物的外骨骼始终具有挥发性成分（如水）比例降低、碳酸钙比例增加的特征。此外，喷口甲壳类动物缺乏耐热性低的类胡萝卜素色素。然而，在机械性能方面未观察到明显差异。我们的研究结果表明，喷口甲壳类动物外骨骼的相似组成是趋同演化而来以耐受高温的。
