Respiratory protein-driven selectivity during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction

作者：Haijun Song, Haijun Song, Yuyang Wu, Xu Dai, Jacopo Dal Corso, Fengyu Wang, Yan Feng, Daoliang Chu, Li Tian, Huyue Song, Huyue Song, William J. Foster · 发表于：The Innovation · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100618 · 被引用次数：19 · 研究领域：Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils、Marine Biology and Ecology Research、Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

Extinction selectivity determines the direction of macroevolution, especially during mass extinction; however, its driving mechanisms remain poorly understood. By investigating the physiological selectivity of marine animals during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, we found that marine clades with lower O 2 -carrying capacity hemerythrin proteins and those relying on O 2 diffusion experienced significantly greater extinction intensity and body-size reduction than those with higher O 2 -carrying capacity hemoglobin or hemocyanin proteins. Our findings suggest that animals with high O 2 -carrying capacity obtained the necessary O 2 even under hypoxia and compensated for the increased energy requirements caused by ocean acidification, which enabled their survival during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Thus, high O 2 -carrying capacity may have been crucial for the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern Evolutionary Fauna.