TREHALOSE PREVENTS IMBIBITIONAL DAMAGE IN ANHYDROBIOTIC CYSTS OF ARTEMIA BY DEPRESSING THE PHASE TRANSITION TEMPERATURE IN LIPIDS
F. Hontoria, J.H. Crowe, L.M. Crowe, F. Amat
Abstract:
Many anhydrobiotic organisms are known to experience extensive leakage during imbibition of water. In the present paper, we show that anhydrobiotic cysts of Artemia are not significantly damaged during imbibition at low temperatures. Further, we show that trehalose in the dry cysts is probably responsible for depressing the phase transition temperature to below the freezing point of water. As a result, membranes in the cysts do not pass trough a phase transition during rehydration, and thus they escape imbibitional damage altogether. In general, hatchability is positively correlated with trehalose content. However, one field sample contained relatively low amounts of trehalose, but nevertheless showed high hatchability. It seems clear, therefore, that factors other than trehalose content are also involved in survival in the dry state.
(Instituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal (C.S.I.C.), 12595 Ribera de Cabanes, Castellon, Spain)