ABSTRACT
In this chapter, “life in the frozen state” will be extended to “life in the frozen and dehydrated state,” as desiccation is, for microorganisms, as important and challenging a stress as freezing. Moreover, to develop strategies for long-term preservation methods under conditions in which the metabolism of microorganisms is inhibited (e.g., cryopreservation and lyophilization), it is necessary to understand the principles by which they counteract both these threats.
