The microscopic animals were found to produce a unique protein that coats the molecules in their cells in a glasslike substance.
“They can remain like that in a dry state for years, even decades, and when you put them back in water, they revive within hours,” said Thomas Boothby, a postdoctoral researcher from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Boothby wanted to know how tardigrades protected themselves from extreme drying, a strategy called anhydrobiosis.
Previous studies had shown that trehalose levels were much lower in the tardigrade than in brine shrimp when they were dried, leading Dr. Boothby to believe that there might be another factor keeping the water bears alive.
Photo When the tardigrade begins to dry out, its body activates its lifesaving TDPs. These proteins protect the tardigrade in much the same way that trehalose sugar protects the brine shrimp, Dr. Boothby said.
“The glass is coating the molecules inside of the tardigrade cells, keeping them intact,” said Dr. Boothby said.
“This is a well-done, convincing piece of research that provides new insights on how tardigrades survive anhydrobiosis,” said John Crowe, a professor emeritus from the University of California, Davis, in an email.
There are more than a thousand species, and different tardigrades might react to drying out differently.
Originally published at Cogly.
