Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics: news details

The miraculous worm resurrection Date posted: 09.08.11 09:41, Age: 286 days

C. elegans dauer larva can survive after losing 98% of its body water.

After 98% desiccation, dead worms stay rigid (B), while preconditioned worms start moving again 20 minutes after the addition of water (A).

Water is essential for life on earth - only a few organisms can survive extreme desiccation. A research team at the MPI-CBG now used C. elegans as a genetic model to investigate molecular mechanisms of life without water and show that the C. elegans dauer larva is a true anhydrobiote: under deﬁned conditions it can survive even after losing 98% of its body water. This ability is correlated with a several fold increase in the amount of trehalose. Mutants unable to synthesize trehalose cannot survive even mild dehydration. Light and electron microscopy indicate that one of the major functions of trehalose is the preservation of membrane organization. (Current Biology, 9 August 2011)

read press release (in German)

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News Details The miraculous worm resurrection Date posted: 09.08.11 09:41, Age: 286 days By: Florian Frisc Back to: News C. elegans dauer larva can survive after losing 98% of its body water. After 98% desiccation, dead worms stay rigid (B), while preconditioned worms start moving again 20 minutes after the addition of water (A). Water is essential for life on earth - only a few organisms can survive extreme desiccation. A research team at the MPI-CBG now used C. elegans as a genetic model to investigate molecular mechanisms of life without water and show that the C. elegans dauer larva is a true anhydrobiote: under deﬁned conditions it can survive even after losing 98% of its body water. This ability is correlated with a several fold increase in the amount of trehalose. Mutants unable to synthesize trehalose cannot survive even mild dehydration. Light and electron microscopy indicate that one of the major functions of trehalose is the preservation of membrane organization. (Current Biology, 9 August 2011) read press release (in German)
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News Details

C. elegans dauer larva can survive after losing 98% of its body water.