Abstract
BackgroundTardigrades represent an animal phylum with extraordinary resistance to environmental stress.ResultsTo gain insights into their stress-specific adaptation potential, major clusters of related and similar proteins are identified, as well as specific functional clusters delineated comparing all tardigrades and individual species (Milnesium tardigradum, Hypsibius dujardini, Echiniscus testudo, Tulinus stephaniae, Richtersius coronifer) and functional elements in tardigrade mRNAs are analysed. We find that 39.3% of the total sequences clustered in 58 clusters of more than 20 proteins. Among these are ten tardigrade specific as well as a number of stress-specific protein clusters. Tardigrade-specific functional adaptations include strong protein, DNA- and redox protection, maintenance and protein recycling. Specific regulatory elements regulate tardigrade mRNA stability such as lox P DICE elements whereas 14 other RNA elements of higher eukaryotes are not found. Further features of tardigrade specific adaption are rapidly identified by sequence and/or pattern search on the web-tool tardigrade analyzer http://waterbear.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de. The work-bench offers nucleotide pattern analysis for promotor and regulatory element detection (tardigrade specific; nrdb) as well as rapid COG search for function assignments including species-specific repositories of all analysed data.ConclusionDifferent protein clusters and regulatory elements implicated in tardigrade stress adaptations are analysed including unpublished tardigrade sequences.
Highlights
Tardigrades represent an animal phylum with extraordinary resistance to environmental stress
Different protein clusters and regulatory elements implicated in tardigrade stress adaptations are analysed including unpublished tardigrade sequences
Embryos of H. dujardini have a stereotyped cleavage pattern with asymmetric cell divisions, nuclear migrations, and cell migrations occurring in reproducible patterns [15]
Summary
Tardigrades represent an animal phylum with extraordinary resistance to environmental stress. Tardigrades are small metazoans resembling microscopic bears ("water-bears", 0.05 mm to 1.5 mm in size) and live in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments, especially in lichens and mosses [1,2,3]. They are a phylum of multi-cellular animals capable of reversible suspension of their metabolism and entering a state of cryptobiosis [4,5]. The tardigrade H. dujardini can be cultured continuously for decades and can be cryopreserved. Molecular data are sparse but include the purinergic receptor occuring in H. dujardini [16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
