As of: February 7, 2024, 7:42 p.m
By: Philipp Bräuner
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Tardigrades are also called “tardigrades” or “water bears” because of their appearance.
They are almost indestructible.
(Computer illustration) © Science Photo Library/Imago
They are real survivors: tardigrades.
Researchers have now discovered how they get to their life-saving state.
USA - Most are barely a millimeter long, but they are among the most robust creatures on the planet: tardigrades.
Whether it's drought, temperatures well below -200 degrees Celsius or a lack of oxygen - the microorganisms, also known as water bears, can withstand almost anything.
They owe their ability to do this to a protective mechanism they can activate in the face of extreme environmental conditions, known as the “tiny” state.
The tardigrades retract their characteristic legs and their metabolism almost comes to a standstill.
Until now, it was unclear what triggers this mechanism in the animals.
Researchers in the United States have now found an answer in this regard, which has been published in the journal
PLOS ONE
.
Free radicals play a key role in the research group's findings.
These oxygen atoms or molecules with unpaired electrons are extremely reactive because they steal electrons from other atoms.
This leads to so-called oxidative stress, which often damages cells and compounds such as proteins and DNA.
Amino acid is a key component in the protective mechanism of tardigrades
The special thing is that, according to the study, the water bears do not try to protect themselves from free radicals.
Rather, the free radicals produced by the animals appear to primarily initiate the protective mechanism.
During the experiment, the tardigrades were exposed to various stressful situations that produced free radicals.
These included high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, salt or sugar.
The researchers then used substances that block oxidation with the amino acid cysteine.
It turned out that if no cysteine is available for the free radicals, the water bears cannot enter the protective “barrel” state.
Combination of cysteine and free radicals triggers protective state
The research group concludes that it is only the interaction of free radicals and cysteine that enables the protective mechanism of the microorganisms.
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One of the study's lead authors, Amand L. Smythers, told
CNN
that these findings could be important for cancer therapy, for example.
They could also be useful in developing protective materials for extreme environments such as space.
(
pkb
)
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