Cryobiology

Cellular structures such as membranes and proteins require water as a vital structural element. Dehydration causes a loss of structural integrity, leading to cell death. However, many lower organisms are able to survive extreme dehydration. Yeast can survive up to a 99% loss of water content (7), and many bryophytes can withstand drying to water contents of around 10% of their dry weight, with a subsequent return to normal metabolism. (12). These anhydrobiotic organisms share the property of being able to produce high concentrations of certain disaccharides in response to desiccation or high temperature. The most common and perhaps the most effective of these is trehalose, a nonreducing disaccharide of glucose. In some anhydrobiotic organisms such as yeast, trehalose is foun