Desiccation of Hypsibius exemplaris.

Many species of tardigrades can survive severe water loss, but different species tolerate different desiccation conditions. Hypsibius exemplaris is able to survive desiccation after an initial period of slow drying, as described here. This protocol will likely work for other tardigrade species as well. Drying of tardigrades can be used for probing the mechanistic underpinnings of desiccation tolerance, as well as for practical purposes such as shipping and long-term storage of the animals.

Boothby TC 《-》

Ultrastructural analysis of the dehydrated tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris unveils an anhydrobiotic-specific architecture.

Richaud M ，Le Goff E ，Cazevielle C ，Ono F ，Mori Y ，Saini NL ，Cuq P ，Baghdiguian S ，Godefroy N ，Galas S ... -  《Scientific Reports》

Verification of Hypsibius exemplaris Gąsiorek et al., 2018 (Eutardigrada; Hypsibiidae) application in anhydrobiosis research.

Poprawa I ，Bartylak T ，Kulpla A ，Erdmann W ，Roszkowska M ，Chajec Ł ，Kaczmarek Ł ，Karachitos A ，Kmita H ... -  《PLoS One》

A comparative ultrastructure study of the tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus in the hydrated state, after desiccation and during the process of rehydration.

Galas S ，Le Goff E ，Cazevieille C ，Tanaka A ，Cuq P ，Baghdiguian S ，Kunieda T ，Godefroy N ，Richaud M ... -  《PLoS One》

An evaluation of thermal tolerance in six tardigrade species in an active and dry state.

Tardigrades are known for their ability to survive extreme conditions. Reports indicate that tardigrade thermal tolerance is enhanced in the desiccated state; however, these reports have almost always used a single tardigrade species and drying/heating methods vary between studies. Using six different species of tardigrades we confirm that desiccation enhances thermal tolerance in tardigrades. Furthermore, we show that differences in thermal tolerance exist between tardigrade species both when hydrated and desiccated. While Viridiscus viridianus survives the highest temperatures in the hydrated state of any species tested here, under hydrated conditions, the thermal tolerance of V. viridianus is restricted to an acute transient stress. Furthermore, unlike other stresses, such as desiccation, where mild initial exposure preconditions some species to survive subsequent harsher treatment, for V. viridianus exposure to mild thermal stress in the hydrated state does not confer protection to harsher heating. Our results suggest that while tardigrades have the capacity to tolerate mild thermal stress while hydrated, survival of high temperatures in a desiccated state is a by-product of tardigrades' ability to survive desiccation.

Loeffelholz J ，Meese E ，Giovannini I ，Ullibarri K ，Momeni S ，Merfeld N ，Wessel J ，Guidetti R ，Rebecchi L ，Boothby TC ... -  《Biology Open》