Chinese scientists decode tardigrades' radiation-resisting powers

Chinese scientists have decoded the key mechanisms that make tardigrades radiation-resistant, which could shed light on how to make human beings stronger against radiation in the future, according to a study published in the journal Science on Friday.

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, are aquatic invertebrates that can survive in extreme environments, including strong radiation, high temperature, high pressure, low temperature, dryness, and even the vacuum of outer space.

In 2018, Chinese researchers collected tardigrade samples from central China's Henan Province. They then identified a previously undocumented species and named it Hypsibius henanensis.

After examining the genome of the new species, researchers were able to conclude on the creature's three radio-tolerance mechanisms: horizontal gene transfer from other organisms such as plants, fungi and bacteria; a tardigrade-specific radiation-induced disordered protein that accelerates DNA damage repair; and non-tardigrade-specific genes that assembly proteins to help DNA damage repair.

Their study is expected to give scientists insights into how to increase the stress tolerance of human cells, according to the authors.

"We've found that the molecules, which offer anti-radiation protection for tardigrades, can significantly improve the anti-radiation ability of human cells after being transferred into human cells. This suggests that they have important potential application value and can provide a theoretical basis for the development of a defense for human beings against the damages of ultra-strong radiation," said Zhang Lingqiang, researcher at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences under the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

(Cover: This handout picture released by Nature journal on September 20, 2016 shows a scanning electron microscope image of the hydrated tardigrade, Ramazzottius varieornatus. /CFP)