16 Oct An Ancient Animal is Helping Scientists Improve Modern Technology
Proteins that protect water bears from damage during periods of desiccation also shield proteins from damage during cryo-EM imaging. Kaitlyn Abe, graduate student in the Lim Lab, created a cartoon of a water bear with a protective shield.
Water bears, an ancient group of microscopic animals known for their pudgy, ursine appearance and their uncanny ability to survive under extreme conditions, are helping researchers uncover the basic forms and functions of life’s molecular building blocks using modern technology.
Also known as tardigrades, these aquatic microorganisms can endure blistering heat and severe cold thanks to a set of specialized molecules they produce that protect them from damage. These molecules, called late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, keep the animals’ essential cellular structures and proteins intact, allowing water bears to dry up and go dormant when faced with an uninhabitable environment and then rehydrate and reanimate when it is safe to do so — sometimes decades later.
Now, in a recent study published in Nature Communications and led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Ci Ji Lim, scientists have found that these same proteins can help solve a major technological challenge when it comes to getting high-quality microscope images of a diversity of other cellular structures and proteins using a technique called cryogenic electron microscopy or cryo-EM.
Lim has filed a provisional patent with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for the method described in the study.