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Plant desiccation gene found in a nematode

2002; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 416; Issue: 6876 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/416038a

1476-4687

John A. Browne, Alan Tunnacliffe, Ann M. Burnell,

Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology

When subjected to drought conditions, some organisms enter a state of suspended animation known as anhydrobiosis, surviving for indefinite periods until rehydration allows them to resume normal metabolism. We have identified a gene in the anhydrobiotic nematode Aphelenchus avenae that is upregulated in response to desiccation stress and whose encoded protein shares sequence similarity with a late-embryonic gene that is induced in many plants when they are deprived of water. This finding suggests that animals and plants that undergo anhydrobiosis may use common protective strategies against dehydration, and provides a unifying insight into the mechanism of anhydrobiosis.