Tardigrades are some of the toughest animals on earth. These microscopic creatures, commonly called tardigrades, can survive in extreme temperatures without water or oxygen. Scientists may have identified the exact molecular mechanisms that small invertebrates use to survive such harsh conditions. They are equipped with molecular sensors that detect uninhabitable elements in their environment, letting them know when to go dormant and when to resume normal activity. Here are the findings: The study was published in an open access journal on January 17 pro swan.
[Related: Tardigrades go where the slime takes them.]
What is a tardigrade?
There is Over 1,100 species of tardigrades. These free-living invertebrates are thought to be closely related to arthropods. They measure approximately 0.04 inches or less and live in a variety of habitats. They are found in flowering plants, mosses, sand, fresh water, and the ocean.
Most plant-eating tardigrades derive their nutrition by piercing individual plant cells with their probes and sucking out the cell contents. Some predatory carnivores are eat other small invertebrates.
German zoologist JAE Goese observed a tardigrade under a microscope in 1773 and noted that its body looked like a shrunken version of a bear.he named it kleiner wasserveror German for “little tardigrade.”
How do they survive extreme environments?
When tardigrades are faced with dry, barren, or otherwise inhospitable environments, they enter a state of dormancy; tan condition. Their eight legs retract, their bodies become dehydrated, and their metabolism slows down to an almost undetectable rate. It will curl up into a ball. This condition can last for years. Until now, scientists weren’t sure what signals tardigrades use to enter and exit the site. death-like condition Where nutrition is not required.
In this new researchResearchers induced tardigrades into a state of dormancy in the lab by exposing them to temperatures of minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit and high levels of hydrogen peroxide, salt, and sugar. Their cells responded to these harmful conditions by producing harmful oxygen free radicals. Free radicals react with other molecules, which also oxidize molecules. An amino acid called cysteine. It is one of the building blocks of proteins in the body, and the reaction changes the protein’s function and structure, sending a signal to the tardigrade to enter a dormant state. Thanks to cysteine, they can sense their environment and react to stressors.
When conditions improve and free radicals disappear, the sensor no longer oxidizes. The tardigrade then reawakens from its dormant state. The researchers also found that when they applied a cysteine-blocking chemical to the environment, the tardigrades were unable to sense free radicals and did not go into dormancy.
The researchers say these results show that cysteine is an important sensor that turns dormancy on and off in response to multiple stressors. This suggests that cysteine oxidation is an important mechanism for tardigrades to survive in a constantly changing environment.
[Related: We’ve seen how tardigrades walk, and it’s mesmerizing.]
“Our study reveals that tardigrade survival to stress conditions relies on reversible cysteine oxidation, whereby reactive oxygen species act as sensors and allow tardigrades to respond to external changes. will do so.” The authors wrote in a statement:
Could this help humanity?
Future research into this mechanism may reveal whether this occurs in all tardigrade species. Free radicals may be involved, diseases associated with agingfurther research on tardigrades could help scientists better understand aging.
“Whether this is a universally conserved protection mechanism and whether this is conserved across tardigrade species is a very important question,” said study co-authors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Leslie Hicks says. Said new scientist. Her answers, she says, could help us better understand the aging process and how to make long-term space travel a reality.