Protection Against Desiccation and UV light

Desiccation and intense sunlight are key ecological stressors for terrestrial green algae in biofilms. Gylletråd contains three protective carbohydrates: arabitol, erythritol, and trehalose. The first two help mitigate desiccation-induced stress. Trehalose, a disaccharide, is known to be produced by desiccation-tolerant organisms, as it stabilizes biomolecules in a dehydrated state.

In addition, gylletråd contains significant concentration of a novel UV-absorbing algasporine amino acid (MAA), which has shown a potential for human UV-skin protection (Hammerle et al. 2026).

The presence of three low-molecular-weight carbohydrates, along with the new MAA, explains the alga’s biochemical ability to tolerate desiccation and ultraviolet radiation.