A novel nematode species from the Siberian permafrost shares adaptive mechanisms for cryptobiotic survival with C. elegans dauer larva ...

• Main Authors: Shatilovich, Anastasia, Gade, Vamshidhar R., Pippel, Martin, Hoffmeyer, Tarja T., Tchesunov, Alexei V., Stevens, Lewis, Winkler, Sylke, Hughes, Graham M., Traikov, Sofia, Hiller, Michael, Rivkina, Elizaveta, Schiffer, Philipp H., Myers, Eugene W., Kurzchalia, Teymuras V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2023
• Subjects: permafrost
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000625578; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/625578

Some organisms in nature have developed the ability to enter a state of suspended metabolism called cryptobiosis when environmental conditions are unfavorable. This state-transition requires execution of a combination of genetic and biochemical pathways that enable the organism to survive for prolonged periods. Recently, nematode individuals have been reanimated from Siberian permafrost after remaining in cryptobiosis. Preliminary analysis indicates that these nematodes belong to the genera Panagrolaimus and Plectus. Here, we present precise radiocarbon dating indicating that the Panagrolaimus individuals have remained in cryptobiosis since the late Pleistocene (~46,000 years). Phylogenetic inference based on our genome assembly and a detailed morphological analysis demonstrate that they belong to an undescribed species, which we named Panagrolaimus kolymaensis. Comparative genome analysis revealed that the molecular toolkit for cryptobiosis in P. kolymaensis and in C. elegans is partly orthologous. We show ... : PLoS Genetics, 19 (7) ...