For the first time, multiple sets of n-peptide compositions from antifreeze protein (AFP) sequences of various cold-adapted fish and insects were analyzed using support vector machine and genetic algorithms. The identification of AFPs is difficult because they exist as evolutionarily divergent types, and because their sequences and structures are present in limited numbers in currently availabl...

Cysteine proteinases (thiol) carry out diverse and critical functions in plants through their ability to hydrolyze peptide bonds target proteins. Here, we cloned a cysteine proteinase gene designated VaCP17 from highly cold-resistant wild Vitis amurensis accession ‘Shuangyou’, then its potential function cold resistance was investigated. The results showed that the CDS of is 1404 bp, encoding 4...

Agents which elevate cyclic AMP (cAMP) cause teleost retinal rods to contract. We have characterized this cAMP effect and have evaluated the role of the cytoskeleton in cyclic nucleotide-induced contraction, using actin and microtubule inhibitors. The necklike myoid region of the rod contracts in the dark and elongates in the light. If long, light-adapted rods are cultured with cAMP analogs and...

The efficacy of hops beta acids (HBA) against unstressed and stress-adapted Listeria monocytogenes in ham extract and the consumers' acceptability of HBA on ready-to-eat (RTE) hams were investigated. Unstressed or acid-, cold-, or starvation-stress-adapted L. monocytogenes was inoculated (1.3-1.5 log CFU/mL) into 10% ham extract, without (control) or with HBA (4.44 or 10.0 µg/mL). Survival/grow...

In goldfish and other cold-blooded vertebrates, temperature can influence the rhodopsin/porphyropsin contributions to the rod photoreceptors. This study examined the effects of temperature on the spectral sensitivity function of the dark-adapted zebrafish. Zebrafish were housed in either a warm (28-30 degrees C) or cold (22-25 degrees C) tank prior to testing. Fish were dark-adapted for at leas...

Diverse biochemical and physiological adaptations enable different species of ectotherms to survive and reproduce in very different temperature regimes, but whether these adaptations fully compensate for the thermodynamically depressing effects of low temperature on rates of biological processes is debated. If such adaptations are fully compensatory, then temperature-dependent processes (e.g., ...

To assess the possibility that the renin-angiotensin system may play a role in the development of cold-induced hypertension, three groups of rats were used. Two groups were exposed to cold (5 +/- 2 degrees C) while the remaining group was kept at 26 +/- 2 degrees C. One group of cold-treated rats received food into which captopril (0.06% by weight) had been thoroughly mixed. The remaining two g...