Review

. 2025 Apr 6;16(1):3284.

doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58656-y.

Life on the dry side: a roadmap to understanding desiccation tolerance and accelerating translational applications

R A Marks^{1

2}, J T B Ekwealor³, M A S Artur⁴, L Bondi⁵, T C Boothby⁶, O M S Carmo⁷, D C Centeno⁸, K K Coe⁹, H J W Dace¹⁰, S Field^{11

12

13

14}, A Hutt¹⁵, S Porembski⁵, A Thalhammer¹⁶, L van der Pas¹⁷, A J Wood¹⁸, P Alpert^{19

20}, D Bartels²¹, S Boeynaems^{7

22

23

24

25}, M N Datar²⁶, T Giese⁵, W I Seidou²⁷, S M Kirchner¹⁷, J Köhler⁵, U G V S S Kumara⁶, J Kyung²⁰, R Lyall²⁸, B D Mishler²⁹, J B V T Ndongmo¹⁷, M S Otegui³⁰, V Reddy³¹, J Rexroth⁵, S M Tebele³², R VanBuren^{11

13

14}, J Verdier³³, U C Vothknecht³⁴, M F Wittenberg¹⁷, E Zokov⁵, M J Oliver³⁵, S Y Rhee^{36

37

38

39}

Affiliations

¹ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. ramarks@illinois.edu.
² Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA. ramarks@illinois.edu.
³ Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA. ekwealor@sfsu.edu.
⁴ Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen Seed Science Centre, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Botany, University of Rostock, Institute of Biosciences, Rostock, Germany.
⁶ Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.
⁷ Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
⁸ Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
⁹ Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA.
¹⁰ Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
¹¹ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹³ Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹⁵ University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Physical Biochemistry, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁷ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
¹⁸ School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA.
¹⁹ University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
²⁰ Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²¹ IMBIO, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
²² Therapeutic Innovation Center (THINC), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
²³ Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CAND), Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁴ Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center (DLDCCC), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁵ Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁶ Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India.
²⁷ WASCAL, Universite Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
²⁸ Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
²⁹ Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
³⁰ University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
³¹ Botanic Gardens, Tissue Culture Laboratory, Parks Recreation and Culture Unit, eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa.
³² Forest Ecology and Management Department, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
³³ Univ Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, Angers, France.
³⁴ Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
³⁵ Division of Plant Sciences and Technology, University of Missouri, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Columbia, MO, USA. olivermj@missouri.edu.
³⁶ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁸ Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁹ Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.

PMID: 40189591
PMCID: PMC11973199
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58656-y

Review

Life on the dry side: a roadmap to understanding desiccation tolerance and accelerating translational applications

R A Marks et al. Nat Commun. 2025.

. 2025 Apr 6;16(1):3284.

doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58656-y.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. ramarks@illinois.edu.
² Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA. ramarks@illinois.edu.
³ Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA. ekwealor@sfsu.edu.
⁴ Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen Seed Science Centre, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Botany, University of Rostock, Institute of Biosciences, Rostock, Germany.
⁶ Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.
⁷ Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
⁸ Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
⁹ Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA.
¹⁰ Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
¹¹ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹³ Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
¹⁵ University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Physical Biochemistry, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁷ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
¹⁸ School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA.
¹⁹ University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
²⁰ Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²¹ IMBIO, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
²² Therapeutic Innovation Center (THINC), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
²³ Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CAND), Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁴ Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center (DLDCCC), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁵ Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
²⁶ Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India.
²⁷ WASCAL, Universite Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
²⁸ Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
²⁹ Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
³⁰ University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
³¹ Botanic Gardens, Tissue Culture Laboratory, Parks Recreation and Culture Unit, eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa.
³² Forest Ecology and Management Department, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
³³ Univ Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, Angers, France.
³⁴ Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
³⁵ Division of Plant Sciences and Technology, University of Missouri, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Columbia, MO, USA. olivermj@missouri.edu.
³⁶ Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁸ Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.
³⁹ Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. rheeseu6@msu.edu.

PMID: 40189591
PMCID: PMC11973199
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58656-y

Abstract

To thrive in extreme conditions, organisms have evolved a diverse arsenal of adaptations that confer resilience. These species, their traits, and the mechanisms underlying them comprise a valuable resource that can be mined for numerous conceptual insights and applied objectives. One of the most dramatic adaptations to water limitation is desiccation tolerance. Understanding the mechanisms underlying desiccation tolerance has important potential implications for medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, and conservation. However, progress has been hindered by a lack of standardization across sub-disciplines, complicating the integration of data and slowing the translation of basic discoveries into practical applications. Here, we synthesize current knowledge on desiccation tolerance across evolutionary, ecological, physiological, and cellular scales to provide a roadmap for advancing desiccation tolerance research. We also address critical gaps and technical roadblocks, highlighting the need for standardized experimental practices, improved taxonomic sampling, and the development of new tools for studying biology in a dry state. We hope that this perspective can serve as a roadmap to accelerating research breakthroughs and unlocking the potential of desiccation tolerance to address global challenges related to climate change, food security, and health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1. Overview of desiccation tolerance research.**
Summaries of a evolutionary, b ecological, c morphological, d cellular, and e molecular aspects of desiccation tolerance. f timeline of major natural and research milestones in desiccation tolerance. Colors represent the biological scale of each discovery: purple for discoveries in evolution, blue for discoveries in geography, green for organismal-scale discoveries, yellow for cellular-scale discoveries, and red for discoveries on the molecular scale. Orange represents a historical biological event. For a brief history of the modern discovery of desiccation tolerance, see Alpert (2000). Illustrations in (c–e) by Rachel Torrez.

**Fig. 2. Generalized diagram depicting a desiccation-rehydration time course for representative desiccation-tolerant organisms.**
a Shows organismal water content as a function of environmental water availability and the drying parameters that can be varied (rate of drying, intensity of drying, time in the dry state and rate of rehydration). Boxes in b show examples of measurements that can be performed in organismal biology, physiology, cell biology, and multi-omics. Pre-measurement conditions and data integration are important additional considerations. Illustrations in (a) by Rachel Torrez.

**Fig. 3. Desiccation tolerance research, going forward.**
a De-siloing sub-disciplines of desiccation tolerance research. b Future prospects and possible applications of desiccation tolerance research. In (a), colors represent research in desiccation tolerance at different biological scales (evolution, geography, organism, cell, and molecule). In (b), colors represent broad categories for aspirational goals in desiccation tolerance research: purple for social and community growth and development, blue for geographical advancement, green for organismal-scale applications, yellow for cellular-scale applications, and red for applications on the molecular scale. Orange represents broad, general advancements in desiccation tolerance research.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Walters, C., Hill, L. M. & Wheeler, L. J. Dying while dry: kinetics and mechanisms of deterioration in desiccated Organisms1. Integr. Comp. Biol.45, 751–758 (2005). - PubMed
1. Bewley, J. D. Physiological aspects of desiccation tolerance. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol.30, 195–238 (1979).
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1. Alpert, P. & Oliver, M. J. Drying without dying. in Desiccation and survival in plants: drying without dying (CABI Publishing, 2002).
1. IPCC, Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds. Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero), pp. 35–115, (IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 2023).

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Life on the dry side: a roadmap to understanding desiccation tolerance and accelerating translational applications

Affiliations

Life on the dry side: a roadmap to understanding desiccation tolerance and accelerating translational applications

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources