Decipher the secret of a snail living on a crater

The temperature is always hot, the pressure is high, the acidity is strong and the lack of oxygen, the snail is the only animal adapted to this environment by 'attaching iron armor' to the body.

A team of researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has made a breakthrough when it first decoded the snail's genome.

Scientists have deciphered the genome of the molluscs snail

One of the scientists' remarkable discoveries is that they have discovered the genetic clues of 'armor' when comparing two populations: 1 in an iron-rich environment and one in an iron-poor environment. .

'We have discovered a gene called MTP (metal tolerance protein) 9 , which will increase the absorption capacity of sulfur iron 27 times more than the iron-poor environment population ,' 'said Dr. Sun Jin said. 'This protein has the effect of increasing the body's tolerance in iron-rich environments.'

Snails can live in extremely hot water

Scientists believe that this tolerance helps snails to survive when iron in the environment reacts with sulfur on the shell, creating iron sulfur.

Because this can occur at lower temperatures, the research is applicable to industries.

The snail's genetic sequence has not changed during its evolution

Another interesting point of the research is that the scientists were surprised to find no specific gene of this species even though they are unique among mollusks.

What's more, the snail's genetic sequence has not changed during its evolution, with the leg armor that was so common in the Upper Leg more than 540 million years ago.

Therefore, scientists believe that this study will also contribute to unravel life through previous geological periods.

Researchers

The group's results were taken from 20 samples of bipedal slugs collected in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean in cooperation with the Earth-Ocean Science and Technology Agency of Japan (JAMSTEC).

The study originated from the idea that life begins with hydrothermal vents.