Re:Tiny animal carcasses found in buried Antarctic lake
by dekhn on Friday January 18, 2019 @12:08PM
(#18940763)
I read the original article, and they don't know what the conditions were when they entered cryptobiotic state:
The moss sample used in the current study most probably contained, initially at least, moisture from snowmelt in early summer, since at the time of collection they were not covered by winter snow accumulation. However, the possibility of freeze-drying during 30.5 years of frozen storage cannot be discounted, and whether the animals obtained here were hydrated or dehydrated (thus in an anhydrobiotic state) before or after storage is unknown.
My understanding (I'm a bioinformaticist, not a wet lab biologist, but I've collected tardigrades and read up on them), the process occurs in very dry conditions.
However, in good faith, I did some searching and found some pages which claim that cyrobiosis (a form of cryptobiosis that occurs in wet, cold enviornments) is exploited by tardigrades. So I guess you're right.
The moss sample used in the current study most probably contained, initially at least, moisture from snowmelt in early summer, since at the time of collection they were not covered by winter snow accumulation. However, the possibility of freeze-drying during 30.5 years of frozen storage cannot be discounted, and whether the animals obtained here were hydrated or dehydrated (thus in an anhydrobiotic state) before or after storage is unknown.
My understanding (I'm a bioinformaticist, not a wet lab biologist, but I've collected tardigrades and read up on them), the process occurs in very dry conditions.
However, in good faith, I did some searching and found some pages which claim that cyrobiosis (a form of cryptobiosis that occurs in wet, cold enviornments) is exploited by tardigrades. So I guess you're right.