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How do terrestrial Antarctic organisms survive in their harsh environment?

David A Wharton1* and Craig J Marshall2

Author Affiliations

1 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

2 Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

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Journal of Biology 2009, 8:39 doi:10.1186/jbiol142

Published: 29 April 2009

Abstract

Anhydrobiosis, or extreme desiccation tolerance, is one of the strategies that allows terrestrial Antarctic organisms to survive in a harsh environment. A new study in BMC Genomics analyses gene expression in an Antarctic nematode during desiccation, and sheds new light on this phenomenon.