Tardigrades have fascinated scientists for years, and new species of these creatures and their previously unknown characteristics are constantly being discovered. It is already known that these creatures can survive complete desiccation, cooling to near absolute zero, exposure to gigantic doses of radiation, or heating to extremely high temperatures (up to 150 degrees Celsius).
Research is still ongoing on their areas of presence and different living conditions, as well as on a number of adaptive possibilities and properties. And there are many of them, and they regularly surprise researchers.
One of the most studied aspects of the life of these creatures is, for example, their ability to use a kind of fluorescent shield and the general phenomenon of autofluorescence. For example, the scientific journal “Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society” published a research article titled “Investigation of autofluorescence in tardigrades (phylum Tardigrada)”, in which the authors presented the first true color images of tardigrade fluorescence and evaluated the hypothesis of their production of a fluorescent screen as protection against UV radiation.
It was while conducting similar research on these abilities of tardigrades that one of the graduates of Warren Wilson University in the United States, Mathilde Pineau, discovered a completely new species of tardigrades.
Its success did not go unnoticed, the new species joined the growing group of the tardigrade family, and its name was given in honor of Warren Wilson College – Milnesium warrenwilsoni.
For a French student who studied at the aforementioned university, this is all the more reason to further develop her research on the effects of tardigrade fluorescence. However, these are not the only talents of the little creature. A very interesting aspect of their ability to survive is their ability to survive being eaten and excreted by a snail.
Tardigrades, also called bears or water bears, are microscopic eight-legged invertebrate animals, many of which possess extraordinary survival skills thanks to cryptobiosis. Cryptobiosis is a term that refers to a reversible metabolic state, the so-called hidden life, accustomed to surviving in unfavorable environmental conditions. Cryptobiosis can be caused, for example, by insufficient or lack of oxygen, water shortage or extreme temperatures. It is this ability that allows them to survive the journey through the snail’s intestine unscathed.
Finnish scientists found evidence that water bears ride in the guts of snails and published it in “Zoological Studies.” Tardigrades that become food for snails may avoid digestion and still be able to reproduce after being expelled in feces. These conclusions were drawn based on the examination of the excrement of the free-living snails Arianta arbustorium: as many as a quarter of the expelled remains contained live tardigrades.
However, to better evaluate this ability of water bears, the situation was also examined under laboratory conditions. The snails were fed with tardigrades of the species Macrobiotus ripperi. Stool analyzes over the next few days showed that a third of the tardigrades survived digestion, exiting the snail along with the feces. The researchers concluded that such a journey could be advantageous for tardigrades: their spread is difficult due to their small size and slow movements, and traveling in the mollusk’s belly makes it easier for them to reach new areas where they can reproduce.
As you can see, the number of skills and abilities of tardigrades is already enormous, and more and more are being discovered. At this rate and with further research, sooner or later we will probably read about a turning point in understanding how to use the abilities of these creatures in a valuable way.
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