Desiccation and oxidative stress: investigating the genetic contributions to resistance and resilience in bdelloid rotifers.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20261161

Bdelloid rotifers are animals able to withstand the harsh oxidizing conditions of desiccation at any stage of their life, demonstrating remarkable resiliency and resistance to the damage. Resiliency is defined here as damage followed by recovery, while resistance is damage prevention. Desiccating conditions produce oxidative stress, and concomitant stresses from changes in temperature, pH, and salinity. Bdelloids and other organisms that routinely experience highly stressful and changeable environments are under selection to develop enhanced defense and recovery mechanisms that do not reduce overall fitness or physiological health. This dissertation investigated the genetic contributions to bdelloid resilience and resistance, from discovery to experimentation.