Abstract
All organisms encounter abiotic stress but only certain organisms are able to cope with extreme conditions and enter into cryptobiosis (hidden life). Previously, we have shown that C. elegans dauer larvae can survive severe desiccation (anhydrobiosis), a specific form of cryptobiosis. Entry into anhydrobiosis is preceded by activation of a set of biochemical pathways by exposure to mild desiccation. This process called preconditioning induces elevation of trehalose, intrinsically disordered proteins, polyamines and some other pathways that allow the preservation of cellular functionality in the absence of water. Here, we demonstrate that another stress factor, high osmolarity, activates similar biochemical pathways. The larvae that acquired resistance to high osmotic pressure can also withstand desiccation. In addition, high osmolarity significantly increases the biosynthesis of glycerol making larva tolerant to freezing. Thus, to survive abiotic stress, C. elegans activates a combination of genetic and biochemical pathways that serve as a general survival program.
Highlights
All organisms encounter abiotic stress but only certain organisms are able to cope with extreme conditions and enter into cryptobiosis
Osmotic preconditioning enhances survival of C. elegans dauer larvae subjected to harsh desiccation
We demonstrate that C. elegans dauer larvae utilize a combination of genetic and biochemical pathways that serves as a general program to enter into cryptobiosis
Summary
All organisms encounter abiotic stress but only certain organisms are able to cope with extreme conditions and enter into cryptobiosis (hidden life). Organisms in nature encounter abiotic stress, defined as negative impact on living organisms of non-living factors (this does not include starvation), but only a few can survive conditions such as complete absence of water or oxygen, high temperature, freezing or extreme salinity To achieve this, such organisms enter into a state known as anabiosis or cryptobiosis (hidden life), in which they reduce metabolism to an undetectable level[1]. We demonstrated that dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans is a true anhydrobiote and survives to harsh desiccation[17] These larvae, which are formed in response to unfavorable environmental conditions such as scarcity of food or high population density, have a different metabolic signature than L3 larvae. Recent studies have demonstrated that IDPs mediate stress responses by their ability to undergo liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS)[22,23]
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