Comparative Ultrastructure Study Of Tardigrade Ramazzottius Varieornatus Hydrated State, After Desiccation, And During Rehydration
Tardigrades can survive hostile environments such as desiccation by adopting a state of anhydrobiosis. Numerous tardigrade species have been described thus far, and recent genome and transcriptome analyses revealed that several distinct strategies were employed to cope with harsh environments depending on the evolutionary lineages.
Detailed analyses at the cellular and subcellular levels are essential to complete these data. In this work, we analyzed a tardigrade species that can withstand rapid dehydration, Ramazzottius varieornatus. Surprisingly, we noted an absence of the anhydrobiotic-specific extracellular structure previously described for the Hypsibius exemplaris species.
Both Ramazzottius varieornatus and Hypsibius exemplaris belong to the same evolutionary class of Eutardigrada. Nevertheless, our observations reveal discrepancies in the anhydrobiosis mechanisms between these two species. Interestingly, these discrepancies are correlated with their variations in dehydration resistance.
exemplaris during the dehydration and anhydrobiote formation processes partially adapted from 57.
Abstract design: Laurence Meslin CNRS, ISEM 2023
Simon Galas, Emilie Le Goff, Chantal Cazevieille, Akihiro Tanaka, Pierre Cuq, Stephen Baghdiguian, Takekazu Kunieda, Nelly Godefroy, Myriam Richaud
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.03.539216
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.03.539216v1
Astrobiology
