Survival of the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris in harsh environments: Is this species a suitable model for testing tardigrade resistance to stress conditions?

Tardigrades are extremotolerant animals, and Hypsibius exemplaris has gained the position of a model species for many studies, including the investigation of different aspects of extremotolerance. However, its suitability may be questioned, especially when compared with the different tardigrade species. Agreeing with the authors of the publication ‘Compromised DNA replication in gut cells underlies sensitivity to genotoxic stress in the tardigrade Hys. exemplaris ’, we would like to underline potential problems with the interpretation of the obtained results caused by model species used and indicate potential directions for further research that could better explain the issue of tardigrade resistance to genotoxic drugs.