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The Baltic Sea is a nutritious inland sea. The rich presence of algae and other organic materials gives the Baltic Sea a special lighting environment. As the algae capture the blue light, the red wavelengths become more dominant. Now, an international research team has shown that a single change in a particular protein in the herd’s eye enables it to see better in the waters of the Baltic Sea.
“We believe this change will allow the hatchling to find better food and avoid predatory fish,” says Leif Andersson, a professor at Uppsala University, who led the study.
Specifically, the mutation means that an amino acid is exchanged at a certain site in the rhodopsin protein, which is found in the light receptors of the eye.
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The currents have been adapted to the wavelengths of light that dominate the Baltic Sea.
– It’s great that a single mutation has such a significant impact on the eye’s ability to absorb light at different wavelengths. Most of the traits, like the length of the human body, are controlled by thousands of genes, says Leif Andersson.
Strömming is a type of herring that for the last 10,000 years has adapted to the fractured waters of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for studying evolutionary changes. In just a few hundred years, the mutation became the most common genetic variant, according to the new study.
A third of the fish species studied that live in fresh or brackish water have the same genetic change. In marine species it did not occur almost at all. This means that the specific characteristic is really important for fish in fresh or brackish water.
– The mutation allows the retina to capture more photons (light particles) in the red light environment of the Baltic Sea, says Leif Andersson.
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