Ciliate cryptobiosis: a microbial strategy against environmental starvation.
This review outlines the main features of ciliate resting-cyst formation or encystment. It represents a strategy against several environmental stresses (such as starvation), which involves a highly gene-regulated cell differentiation process and originates a more resistant, differentiated form or resting cyst. This process is mainly characterized by drastic cytoplasmic dehydration that induces a general metabolic rate decrease, intense autophagic activity, the formation of a permeable cyst wall protecting the cell against the adverse environmental conditions, and a gene-silencing mechanism after opening the specific encystment genes.
Gutiérrez
J C
JC
Departamento de Microbiología III, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. jgf00004@teleline.es
Callejas
S
S
Borniquel
S
S
Benítez
L
L
Martín-González
A
A
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin; D016798:Ciliophora / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D020868:Gene Silencing; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism
D002843:Chromatin; D012333:RNA, Messenger