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Turn (on) Your Head and “Cough”: Evolution of Lung Breathing from a Lungless Primitive Vertebrate
Author(s) -
Harris Michael,
Hoffman Megan,
Taylor Barbara
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.1033.4
Subject(s) - vertebrate , ventilation (architecture) , basal (medicine) , biology , lamprey , lung , breathing , fish <actinopterygii> , anatomy , respiratory system , evolutionary biology , medicine , endocrinology , genetics , gene , paleontology , mechanical engineering , fishery , insulin , engineering
Air breathing was critical to the terrestrial radiation and evolution of tetrapods and arose in fish. The origins of the vertebrate lung stem from primitive boney fish. The origin of the neural substrates, which are sensitive to metabolically produced CO2 and which rhythmically activating respiratory muscles to produce lung ventilation to match ventilation to metabolic demand, is enigmatic. We have found that a distinct periodic centrally generated rhythm, described as “cough” and occurring in lamprey in vivo and in vitro, is modulated by central sensitivity to CO2. This suggests that elements critical for the evolution of breathing in tetrapods, were present in the most basal vertebrate ancestors prior to the evolution of the lung. We propose that the evolution of breathing in all vertebrates occurred through exaptations derived from these critical basal elements.