Abstract
Despite more than 200 yr of recognition that some microscopic metazoans survive environmental conditions far beyond those experienced in nature while in a cryptobiotic state, this phenomenon has received little attention from evolutionary biologists. The excess environmental resistance exhibited by cryptobiotic organisms cannot be viewed as an adaptation within current evolutionary biology. Rather, excess resistance may have evolved as a by-product of natural selection for tolerance to desiccation or other naturally occurring environmental agents. The combined effects of desiccation, metabolic arrest, effective stabilization of dry or frozen cells by protectant molecules, and efficient DNA repair mechanisms may have led to a protection of the organism against conditions far beyond those experienced in nature.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 429-435 |
| Journal | Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2003 |
Bibliographical note
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.The record was previously connected to the following departments: Theoretical ecology (Closed 2011) (011006011)
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Ecology (including Biodiversity Conservation)