There are certain facts in nature that are eternal truths. They have been happening continuously since the beginning of creation till now. The sun rises in the east. A planet revolves around its own star. Oxygen is essential for living organisms. But maybe it's time to rethink that last sentence. Because scientists have found an animal that can live without oxygen.

Henneguya salminicola

In 2020, a group of Israeli scientists discovered a jellyfish-like parasite. It has no mitochondrial genome. Normal respiration is not possible without the mitochondrial genome. Every multicellular organism in the world has a mitochondrial genome. Since these jellyfish-like parasites have no breathing system, they do not need to rely on oxygen to survive.

As this discovery has given a new dimension to the activities of life on Earth, the possibility of finding the existence of life on alien planets has also increased many times. Because we have thought that life cannot exist on planets that do not have oxygen. That thought was interrupted by this discovery. The door to the possibility of life even on a planet without oxygen has now been opened.

Life on Earth began about 1.45 billion years ago, by metabolizing oxygen. It started with the help of Archeon. Archaeons adapted themselves to the environment by consuming bacteria. Along with archaeons, bacteria also adapted well to the new environment.

Later the two separate organisms begin to mutate into one. Bacteria become mitochondria. Mitochondria gradually became the most important cell organelles. This organelle is found in every cell in the body except red blood cells.

Mitochondria break down oxygen to produce a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This molecule provides all the energy in the body. In the process of adaptation, some organisms adapt to low oxygen or hypoxic conditions. Over time, some single-celled organisms replaced mitochondria to carry out their own respiration.

But there has always been a debate about anaerobic multicellular organisms. This new discovery puts an end to that debate. A group of researchers led by researcher Diana Yahlomi of Tel Aviv University in Israel discovered this information while researching the parasite of salmon called Henneguya salminicola .

This parasite is mainly an animal of the order Nidaria. Corals are part of the same phylum as jellyfish. Although parasites of salmon, they are not that harmful. Instead, they move around as partners throughout the life of the salmon. This parasite of the order Nidaria can survive in quite hypoxic conditions. However, the researchers had questions about how exactly they live.

Research shows that these parasites lost their mitochondrial genome long ago. They have even lost their ability to breathe aerobically while living as parasites. Now every nuclear gene in their body functions like mitochondria.

Like single-celled animals, they have mitochondria-like organelles in their bodies. But the cells of this parasite are different from the rest. They have folds in their inner membrane or cell membrane, which is not normally seen. Another similar parasite is Myxobolus squamalis ( Myxobolus squamalis ), but the mitochondrial genome is clearly seen in their body. So far they are the only multicellular organisms that do not require oxygen for respiration.

Heneguia salminicola is still a mystery to researchers. But one thing is clear. As a result of many years of change, this once jellyfish-like creature has turned into a parasite. Although jellyfish have lost most of their genomes, they have the same size as jellyfish stinging cells. They catch salmon with that.