The mechanisms of tardigrade desiccation protection were originally thought to result from high levels of the sugar trehalose. Trehalose is used by organisms like yeast to avoid desiccation in dry environments by working with heat shock proteins to keep desiccation-sensitive proteins in solution. However, while tardigrades can accumulate small levels of trehalose, the levels are insufficient to provide protection from extreme conditions. Other molecules which help certain organisms avoid cellular desiccation include late embryogenesis abundant proteins, which provide protection to embryonic cotton seeds. Certain proteins actually responsible for the tardigrade's hardiness, including the cytoplasmic and secreted abundant heat soluble proteins, were discovered when searching for late embryogenesis abundant proteins in tardigrades.
One strategy used by the tardigrade to survive in dry environments is anhydrobiosis. Anhydrobiosis is a process in which an organism can lose nearly all of its water and enter an ametabolic state.