Japan's solution to the mystery of the life and death of water bearworm
4hw.org: water bearers are the most powerful creatures on the earth's surface. They can survive no matter how bad their living conditions are. They can be resurrected even after being frozen for 30 years. They are immortal. There are too many secrets about water bearers and few people know about them. Recently, scientists in Japan have finally solved the secret of water bearers' immortality!
According to Japanese media reports, recently, researchers such as Professor Arakawa and Professor Qing Zhun of the Institute of advanced life at Keio University in Japan have found part of the explanation that the microorganism "water bearworm", known as the 'strongest organism', will not die even if it dries completely.
According to reports, Arakawa et al. Found several special genetic genes that can cope with extremely dry environment, and also found all kinds of water bearworms that have strong adaptability to dry environment, which often play a role. This achievement, which is expected to uncover the mystery of strong vitality, was published in PLoS Biology, a professional magazine in the United States, on July 28.
It is reported that this achievement was jointly achieved by Arakawa, guozhiwu and assistant professor of Tokyo University and Professor Mark blackster of Edinburgh University in the UK. Water bear is a small animal less than a millimeter long, living in moss and other familiar places.
It is known that water bearworm can withstand extreme environment such as high temperature, freezing, drying, strong radiation, etc. after drying, it will shrink into a 'dry sleeping state', and can revive when encountering water.
The team analyzed and compared the genomic information of the two species, which have strong adaptability to the dry environment and weak adaptability. In addition to most of the genes that protect cells when they are dry, the team also found genes that lead to a state of dry sleep.
It is understood that in general, cells will die autonomously and orderly under the control of genes due to the effects of oxidation, namely 'apoptosis'. However, the research team found no gene to cause this phenomenon in the water bearworm, which may be the reason why the water bearworm can 'die and come back'.