VITALE, abbot of SANKT PETER and bishop of SALZBURG, saint. Marble tomb slab of St. V., work of Master Hans (1497)—Salzburg, abbey church of Sankt Peter.
It may also be a preparatory phase of reproduction, as, for example, in sporulation. The cyst is formed through the elimination of water (which is a general phenomenon of latent life) and through the formation of protective coverings of various kinds. The resistance of cysts is remarkable: for example, the cysts of Artemia salina resume development from the dry state after about fifteen years. In them, the enzymatic systems remain functional (Urbani).
BIBL.: B. Monterosso, L'anabiosi dei Cirripedi e il problema della V. l., in Arch. zool. it., 19 (1933), extensive bibliography; E. Urbani-L. Rognone-S. Russo, Osservaz. sulla V. l., in Rend. Acc. naz. Lincei, 13 (1952), with bibliography. Alberto Stefanelli