Collection
The Multifunctional Fish Gill
Comparative physiologists have studied the fish gill intensively for the past 100 years, catalysed in part by the pioneering research of Nobel Prize winner August Krogh and his contemporaries Homer Smith and Ancel Keys. Interest in the fish gill stems from the multiple functions that it performs. Effectively, the gill is a “one-stop shop” for a diverse array of physiological functions including osmotic regulation and ionic regulation (osmoregulation), acid-base balance, gas transfer, nitrogen excretion, hormone metabolism, nutrient absorption, chemosensing and detoxification of xenobiotics. Thus, in fish, a single organ (the gill) serves the function of multiple organ systems required in mammals. In other words, the gill is the site of functions that are served by the lung, kidneys, digestive tract, liver, and carotid body.
The gill, while a critical site of homeostasis, at the same time imposes extreme regulatory challenges as it forms an expansive and permeable interface separating the harsh and dynamic aquatic environment from the internal milieu. It is the exquisite design of the gill that enables this interface to function as a barrier to the passage of unwanted molecules while allowing others to pass freely.
The most recent collection of articles focused exclusively on fish was published in 2012 in a special issue of Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology (Milsom and Perry, 2012). The 14 articles featured in that issue collectively have amassed nearly 1400 citations or roughly 97 citations per article. These bibliometric data confirm the continuing interest in the fish gill as a topic of research in comparative physiology. Prior to the 2012 special issue, the state-of-the-art in fish gill physiology was last summarized in a comprehensive synthesis appearing in 2005 (Evans et al., 2005); this review has garnered 2800 citations.
Given the interest in the gill and the numerous advances since the 2012 special edition, we feel that a new collection of articles dedicated to the fish gill in the Journal of Comparative Physiology would be timely, well-received by the community, and highly cited. The draft table of contents (below) contains titles for 17 review articles in areas that have seen significant advances or gained prominence since the 2012 Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology special issue. The proposed contributors are established or emerging experts in their fields. Where possible, we have tried to include early-career researchers, often by pairing them with scientists that are more senior. We have been mindful of inclusivity and thus 50% of the proposed reviews have female authors.
Editors
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Bernd Pelster
Institute of Zoology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Bernd is interested in mechanisms of buoyancy control and in swimbladder function, including the function of the swimbladder as a respiratory organ, as established in many tropical fish.
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Steve Perry
Institute of Zoology, University of Bonn, Germany Perry's research aims to enhance our understanding of fish adaptation to stressful or extreme environments by investigating various physiological, molecular, and sensory aspects.
