Anhydrobiosis: Drying Out with Sugar

MAPK phosphorylation is implicated in the adaptation to desiccation stress in nematodes.

Some nematodes can survive almost complete desiccation by entering an ametabolic state called anhydrobiosis requiring the accumulation of protective molecules such as trehalose and LEA proteins. However, it is not known how anhydrobiotic organisms sense and regulate the response to water loss. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are highly conserved signalling proteins that regulate adapt...

Anhydrobiotic coiling of nematodes in soil.

Nematodes of three genera (Acrobeloides sp., Aphelenchus avenae, and Scutellonema brachyurum) were induced to coil and enter anhydrobiosis in drying soil of two types: sandy loam and loamy sand. Coiling was studied in relationship to soil moisture characteristics. Coiling and the physiological state of anhydrobiosis occurred before the water in sandy soils reached a water potential of -15 bars....

Effect of Drying Conditions on Properties of Dried Sugar Beet

Effects of Pretreatments of Sliced Vegetables with Trehalose on Drying Characteristics and Quality of Dried Products

Effects of pretreatments with trehalose on drying of sliced vegetables (potato and carrot) were experimentally investigated. Two different pretreatment methods were tested. Sliced vegetables were steam-blanched and then immersed in a sugar solution. In another method sliced vegetables were coated with sugar powder, and then steam-blanched. Solid gain and water loss during pretreatment were meas...

Comparative genomics of the tardigrades Hypsibius dujardini and Ramazzottius varieornatus

Tardigrada, a phylum of meiofaunal organisms, have been at the center of discussions of the evolution of Metazoa, the biology of survival in extreme environments, and the role of horizontal gene transfer in animal evolution. Tardigrada are placed as sisters to Arthropoda and Onychophora (velvet worms) in the superphylum Panarthropoda by morphological analyses, but many molecular phylogenies fai...