The study reveals how the Yangtze River porpoise adapts to the freshwater environment

Guang, a professor at the School of Life Sciences at Nanjing Normal University in Beijing, and his co-author at Huada Genetics in Shenzhen described or could explain the genes that make porpoises live in the Yangtze River. The results were published online April 10 in
. Studies have shown that, unlike their marine close relatives, the endangered Yangtze River porpoise adapts to the freshwater environment, carrying genetic variants that may explain changes in kidney function to maintain saline balance in the blood.
Based on the genome data collected from 49 porpoises, Yang Guang et al.'s research shows that the Yangtze river porpoise is genetically distinct from other populations, meaning that they rarely mate with other species or represent an end-of-life species. In the Yangtze River porpoise, genes that encode proteins associated with kidney function, including transporting urea and regulating the amount of sodium absorbed in the blood, mutate, exhibiting natural selection characteristics that make them more suitable for living in fresh water. This may reflect a need to preserve salt, which is essential for porpoises, but not for their marine relatives.
after baiji became extinct, the porpoise became the last remaining cetacean in the Yangtze River. The genetic data reveal a very different genetic composition of the Yangtze River porpoise, and researchers hope to prompt long-term efforts to prevent the destruction of the Yangtze River porpoise habitat. (Source: Science Network, Princess Feng)