Alejandra Arroyo, Sheila Ferer, & Dr. Hugo Tapia
Most biological processes require water to function, so desiccation can be distressing for many living organisms. Desiccation tolerant organisms, commonly termed anhydrobiotes, can lose significant amounts of water and still function normally once rehydrated. The exact stress(es) that cause lethality in desiccation sensitive organisms and how the lethal stresses are mitigated in desiccation tolerant organisms are poorly understood. We use saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to investigate this. A proposed way for mitigating the stress involved in desiccation is the presence of osmolytes in yeast cells. The role that trehalose, glycogen, and glycerol play in the desiccation tolerance of yeast cells are measured through tolerance assays. The viability of strains lacking these compatible solutes are assessed and we propose the importance of these osmolytes in mitigating the stresses involved in desiccation. The concentrations of the compatible solutes at varying drying conditions are measured via glucose assays and assessed for possible correlations between harsher drying conditions, desiccation tolerance, and varying levels of osmolyte concentrations.