Cryptobiosis
Metabolic state of life / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Doctor Who audio play, see Cryptobiosis (Doctor Who audio). For the fish disease, see Cryptobia.
"Anabiosis" redirects here. For the journal, see Anabiosis (journal).
Cryptobiosis or anabiosis is a metabolic state in extremophilic organisms in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In the cryptobiotic state, all measurable metabolic processes stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair. When environmental conditions return to being hospitable, the organism will return to its metabolic state of life as it was prior to cryptobiosis.