cDNA Cloning of Developmentally Regulated Artemia Genes

Artemia cryptobiotic embryos are characterized by their total absence of metabolic activity, including DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. Many efforts have been devoted to the study of the mechanisms that regulate the interruption of these processes in the cyst and their activation following cyst rehydration. In the case of protein synthesis, all the necessary components are present in the cyst (mRNA, ribosomes, initiation and elongation factors, etc,) and reactivation of translation seems to depend on some modifications, such as protein phosphorylation or mRNP disruption that make these components available for protein synthesis (reviewed by Wahba and Woodley [1]).