Sex-related osmotic adjustment strategies underpin desiccation tolerance in the intertidal seaweed Neoporphyra haitanensis.

Males of Neoporphyra haitanensis exhibit 50% greater desiccation tolerance than females through sex-specific osmotic adjustment strategies.

• Why it matters: Understanding sex-related responses to desiccation is crucial for revealing how intertidal macroalgae adapt to environmental stresses and for improving mariculture practices.
• What they did: Researchers combined physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses on male and female N. haitanensis, focusing on osmotic regulation mechanisms under desiccation stress.
• The result: Males showed enhanced osmotic adjustment via higher trehalose production and ion transport gene expression, enabling superior ion regulation and desiccation resilience, informing adaptive and cultivation strategies.