Comparative genomics shows that sodium channel and pump proteins evolved just before multicellular animals arose, implying that control of electrolyte balancing was a crucial event in life's history. Karen Hopkin reports

比较基因学告诉我们钠通道和泵蛋白的演变进化是在多细胞动物崛起之前就发生了的。同时这也暗示说明点解平衡的控制在生命历程中是一个起着决定性作用的过程。

Life requires balance. We balance work and family. We eat a balanced breakfast, sometimes.

生命的存活需要各种平衡。比如我们人类会在工作和家庭之间寻找平衡点，当然有时我们也会吃一次营养均衡的早餐。

And we balance our electrolytes. That salt-watersynergy is not just key to our health, but to our very existence.

我们在生活中的平衡也会影响到体内电解质的平衡。体内盐分和水分的协作不仅是保持健康的关键，也是我们能够生存下去的关键。

Because the appearance of molecules that maintain our fluid balance coincide with the evolution of multicellular life.

因为维持我们体液流动的分子的形态和多细胞生命演化的过程不谋而合。

The findings appear in the journal Physiological Genomics. [Romain A. Studer et al., "Evolution of the epithelial sodium channel and the sodium pump as limiting factors of aldosterone action on sodium transport"]

此项发现在《物理生物基因学》杂志罗曼 A. 司徒德的“上皮组织钠通道及钠离子泵限制钠离子输送中醛固酮行为因素的进化”一文中得以认证。

When it comes to osmolarity, single cells keep it simple. They adjust their fluid intake by importing or exporting salts across their membranes.

而当提到摩尔渗透压浓度时，仅单细胞就可以维持其正常。单细胞通过从其细胞膜输出和输入钠离子就可以自行调整体液的进入。

But once a creature is multicellular, things are more complex. Many cells don't have direct access to the environment, so a complex system of hormones and sodium channels and pumps has to manage the movement of salts, cell by cell, to keep the whole body hydrated.

然而一旦说道多细胞生物时，事情就变得更加复杂些。 大量细胞没有直接进入体液环境的通道，所以荷尔蒙和钠离子通道及钠离子泵组成的一个复杂系统就诞生了。旨在维持和控制细胞与细胞之间钠离子的活动，进而保持生物整体的碳水平衡。

To trace the evolution of this regulatory system, scientists searched the genomes of organisms that represent the major branches of life's tree.

科学家们通过对能够展示生命进化各个主要分支发展的器官进行了从基因学上的分析来解释这样一个行之有效的调整系统的演化过程。

And they found that two proteins—a sodium channel and part of a sodium pump—arose slightly before the first multicellular animals. Which strongly implies that the ability to regulate electrolytes is a big reason we’re here. As any scientists worth their salt will tell you.

科学家们发现了两种重要的蛋白质-钠离子通道和部分钠离子泵-在首次多细胞生命体出现之前就已经简单的发展起来了。这个发现暗示了我们能够从初级进化到现在这样的高级动物是靠这两种蛋白质调整和控制电解质平衡的能力。任何同意这种说法的科学家都会给予你这样的答案。

—Karen Hopkin 凯伦•霍普金斯