Liquid–liquid phase in anhydrobiosis

The observation that some animals can survive severe dehydration in a state approaching suspended animation (anhydrobiosis) has sparked fascination since Antony van Leeuwenhoek first described it in the early 18th century for a species of bdelloid rotifers. Centuries later, we discovered a group of intrinsically disordered polypeptides, named LEA proteins, strongly implicated in increasing desiccation tolerance in plants and many anhydrobiotic animals. Recent findings demonstrate that some LEA proteins form proteinaceous droplets during water loss, which selectively partition biomolecules and may organize the cytosol into regions of biochemically distinct refugees for dehydration-sensitive biomolecules. A thorough understanding of the molecular principles governing anhydrobiosis, and the role of proteinaceous liquid–liquid phase separation in the process, is required to engineer this trait into organisms susceptible to water stress. Engineering anhydrobiosis into other organisms would revolutionize areas spanning from how we preserve medically relevant cells and tissues to securing our food supply.