@article{ReunerHengherrMalietal.2010, author = {Reuner, Andy and Hengherr, Steffen and Mali, Brahim and F{\"o}rster, Frank and Arndt, Detlev and Reinhardt, Richard and Dandekar, Thomas and Frohme, Marcus and Br{\"u}mmer, Franz and Schill, Ralph O.}, title = {Stress response in tardigrades: differential gene expression of molecular chaperones}, series = {Cell Stress and Chaperones}, volume = {15}, journal = {Cell Stress and Chaperones}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-19994}, pages = {423 -- 430}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Semi-terrestrial tardigrades exhibit a remarkable tolerance to desiccation by entering a state called anhydrobiosis. In this state, they show a strong resistance against several kinds of physical extremes. Because of the probable importance of stress proteins during the phases of dehydration and rehydration, the relative abundance of transcripts coding for two α-crystallin heat-shock proteins (Mt-sHsp17.2 and Mt-sHsp19.5), as well for the heat-shock proteins Mt-sHsp10, Mt-Hsp60, Mt-Hsp70 and Mt-Hsp90, were analysed in active and anhydrobiotic tardigrades of the species Milnesium tardigradum. They were also analysed in the transitional stage (I) of dehydration, the transitional stage (II) of rehydration and in heat-shocked specimens. A variable pattern of expression was detected, with most candidates being downregulated. Gene transcripts of one Mt-hsp70 isoform in the transitional stage I and Mt-hsp90 in the anhydrobiotic stage were significantly upregulated. A high gene expression (778.6-fold) was found for the small α-crystallin heat-shock protein gene Mt-sHsp17.2 after heat shock. We discuss the limited role of the stress-gene expression in the transitional stages between the active and anhydrobiotic tardigrades and other mechanisms which allow tardigrades to survive desiccation.}, language = {en} } @article{GrohmeMaliWełniczetal.2013, author = {Grohme, Markus and Mali, Brahim and Wełnicz, Weronika and Michel, Stephanie and Schill, Ralph O. and Frohme, Marcus}, title = {The Aquaporin Channel Repertoire of the Tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum}, series = {Bioinformatics and Biology Insights}, volume = {2013}, journal = {Bioinformatics and Biology Insights}, number = {7}, issn = {1177-9322}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-6092}, pages = {153 -- 165}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Limno-terrestrial tardigrades are small invertebrates that are subjected to periodic drought of their micro-environment. They have evolved to cope with these unfavorable conditions by anhydrobiosis, an ametabolic state of low cellular water. During drying and rehydration, tardigrades go through drastic changes in cellular water content. By our transcriptome sequencing effort of the limno-terrestrial tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum and by a combination of cloning and targeted sequence assembly, we identified transcripts encoding eleven putative aquaporins. Analysis of these sequences proposed 2 classical aquaporins, 8 aquaglyceroporins and a single potentially intracellular unorthodox aquaporin. Using quantitative real-time PCR we analyzed aquaporin transcript expression in the anhydrobiotic context. We have identified additional unorthodox aquaporins in various insect genomes and have identified a novel common conserved structural feature in these proteins. Analysis of the genomic organization of insect aquaporin genes revealed several conserved gene clusters.}, language = {en} }