CurtAdams@aol.com writes:
> I don't have a ref handy, but Branchinecta "eggs" survive by
> glycolysis, so although they shouldn't need oxygen, they need
> a constant flow of energy from the sugars stored in the cell.
> I don't know the basal [original] condition for the group but
> some *have* to survive anoxia, so they have no choice but to
> do things this way.
Dry Artemia cysts are in a state of biostasis. When in dehydration
state of 0..0.1 g water/g cysts) they are in the ametabolic domain (no
measurable metabolism occurs). They do use a high concentration of
sugars (glycerol 4% of dry weight; trehalose 14% of dry weight), but
not as source of energy (at least in the dry state), but as
stabilizing agents.
The state of total metabolic arrest is not unique, but is also common
among soil nematodes, rotifers or tardigrades.
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