Background:Bryum argenteum is one of the most desiccation-tolerant bryophyte species,as well as a most important component of the Biological Soil Crusts(BSCs)found in Gurbantunggut desert(Xinjiang,China),the largest fixed and semi-fixed cold desert in China.To elucidate the molecular mechanisms related to desiccation-tolerance and rehydration,the parallel high throughput transcriptome and iTRAQ proteome efforts have been made by our group.