Analysis of molecular mechanism of tolerance using tardigrade mitochondria

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26660288
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied molecular and cellular biology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kunieda Takekazu 東京大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (10463879)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ミトコンドリア / クマムシ / 乾燥耐性 / プロテオーム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Some terrestrial tardigrades exhibit extreme desiccation-tolerance by entering a dehydrated state called anhydrobiosis. Molecular basis of anhydrobiosis remains largely unknown. In this study, we focused on the mitochondria of tardigrades as a simple model to elucidate the molecular basis of desiccation tolerance. Here, we identified two novel heat soluble proteins, which localize in mitochondria and transfection of these genes enhanced the tolerance of human cultured cells against osmotic stresses. Furthermore, we isolated a high purity mitochondrial fraction from tardigrades and comprehensively identified mitochondrial proteins using a shotgun proteomic approach. These proteins are served as good candidates involved in desiccation tolerance of tardigrade mitochondria.

Free Research Field

極限生物学