Cryptobiosis is an ametabolic state of life entered by an organism in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In the cryptobiotic state, all metabolic procedures stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair. An organism in a cryptobiotic state can essentially live indefinitely until environmental conditions return to being hospitable. When this occurs, the organism will return to its metabolic state of life as it was prior to the cryptobiosis.

Anhydrobiosis

Anhydrobiosis is the most studied form of cryptobiosis and occurs in situations of extreme desiccation. The term anhydrobiosis derives from the Greek for “life without water” and is most commonly used for the desiccation tolerance observed in certain invertebrate animals such as bdelloid rotifers, tardigrades, brine shrimp, nematodes, and at least one species of chironomid (Polypedilum vanderplanki). However, other life forms, including the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum, the majority of plant seeds, and many micro-organisms such as bakers’ yeast, also exhibit desiccation tolerance. Invertebrates undergoing anhydrobiosis often contract into a smaller shape and some proceed to form a sugar called trehalose. Desiccation tolerance in plants is associated with the production of another sugar, sucrose. These sugars are thought to protect the organism from desiccation damage, and studies have shown that anhydrobiotic organisms can survive for decades in the dry state. In some creatures, such as bdelloid rotifers, no trehalose has been found, which has led scientists to propose other mechanisms of anhydrobiosis.

Anoxybiosis

Anoxybiosis isn’t considered a form of cryptobiosis by some. It takes place in situations lacking oxygen, and involves the organism intaking water and becoming turgid and immobile. Studies of the survival rates of organisms during anoxybiosis have given conflicting results.

Chemobiosis

Chemobiosis is the cryptobiotic response to high levels of environmental toxins.

Cryobiosis

Cryobiosis is a form of cryptobiosis that takes place in reaction to decreased temperature. Cryobiosis initiates when the water surrounding the organism’s cells has been frozen, stopping molecule mobility and allowing the organism to endure the freezing temperatures until more hospitable conditions return. Organisms capable of enduring these conditions typically feature molecules that facilitate freezing of water in preferential locations while also prohibiting the growth of large ice crystals that could otherwise damage cells.

Osmobiosis

Osmobiosis is the least studied of all types of cryptobiosis. Osmobiosis occurs in response to increased solute concentration in the solution the organism lives in. Little is known for certain, other than that osmobiosis appears to involve a cessation of metabolism.

Examples

A commonly-known organism that undergoes cryptobiosis is Artemia salina, also known as the brine shrimp or by its brand name Sea-monkeys. This species, which can be found in the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana,survives over the dry season when the water of the pans evaporates, leaving a virtually desiccated lake bed.

The tardigrade, or water bear, is a widely studied and notable example, partially because it can undergo all five types of cryptobiosis. While in a cryptobiotic state, the tardigrade’s metabolism reduces to less than 0.01% of what is normal, and its water content can drop to 1% of normal. It can withstand extreme temperature, radiation, and pressure while in a cryptobiotic state.

Some nematodes and rotifers can also undergo cryptobiosis.