Russian biologists have revived several rotifer worms that froze over 24 thousand years ago. They were found in the east of Yakutia. The description of “resurrection” was published by the scientific journal Current Biology.
Stanislav Malyavin, one of the authors of the study, a researcher at the Institute of Physical, Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed out that this work is by far the most reliable evidence that multicellular living things can live tens of thousands of years in a state where their metabolism practically stops. completely.
Rotifers are a type of primorsome animals. The main characteristic feature is the presence of the so-called rotary apparatus – a ciliary formation at the front end of the body, which is used for nutrition and movement.
About 1500 species of rotifers are known, in Russia – about 600 species]. These are mainly freshwater inhabitants, but they are also found in the sea and moist soils. Most rotifers are free-moving, but there are also attached forms. The vast majority of species are free-living, but parasites and commensals are also found.
The rotifers do not exceed 2 mm in size (much smaller on average). The representative of this type, Ascomorpha minima, is the smallest multicellular animal, its size is about 40 microns. Due to the small size of the tissue, they often acquire a syncytial structure. For the type as a whole, eutelia is characteristic – the constancy of the cellular composition, that is, a constant number of cells in all individuals of the same species. Some rotifers are capable of entering cryptobiosis.
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