X-Message-Number: 22738
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 09:30:03 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers.

	FEBS Lett. 2003 Oct 23;553(3):387-90
	Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers.

	Eukaryotes able to withstand desiccation enter a state of
suspended animation known as anhydrobiosis, which is thought to require
accumulation of the non-reducing disaccharides trehalose (animals, fungi)
and sucrose (plants), acting as water replacement molecules and
vitrifying agents. We now show that clonal populations of bdelloid
rotifers Philodina roseola and Adineta vaga exhibit excellent desiccation
tolerance, but that trehalose and other disaccharides are absent from
carbohydrate extracts of dried animals. Furthermore, trehalose synthase
genes (tps) were not found in rotifer genomes. This first observation of
animal anhydrobiosis without trehalose challenges our current
understanding of the phenomenon and calls for a re-evaluation of existing
models.

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