During cold acclimation, winter rye (Secale cereale) plants accumulate pathogenesis-related proteins that are also antifreeze proteins (AFPs) because they adsorb onto ice and inhibit its growth. Although they promote winter survival in planta, these dual-function AFPs proteins lose activity when stored at subzero temperatures in vitro, so we examined their stability in solutions containing CaCl...

Many organisms in extremely cold environments such as the Antarctic Pole have evolved antifreeze molecules to prevent ice formation. There are four types of antifreeze proteins (AFPs). Type-IV antifreeze proteins (AFP4s) are present also in certain temperate and even tropical fish, which has raised a question as to whether these AFP4s have important functions in addition to antifreeze activity....

Four species of fish in the Barents Sea of the Arctic, north of Norway and Russia, were caught and examined for the presence of antifreeze proteins in their blood sera. Only one species of Arctic fish, the polar cod (Boreogadus saida), was found to contain an antifreeze protein. Antifreeze glycoproteins were isolated and characterized from the blood serum of the Arctic fish, and their structure...

BACKGROUND Legislation requiring bittering of antifreeze enables assessment of the impact on frequency, volume, and severity of pediatric antifreeze ingestions. METHODS US poison control data for antifreeze ingestions in children younger than 5 years were analyzed comparing 232 ingestions occurring in states after enactment of bittering requirements with 6218 cases occurring in states (or at ...

This thesis describes the preparation, characterization and application of a few biomimetic surfaces. Biomimetics is a modern development of the ancient Greek concept of mimesis, i.e. man-made imitation of nature. The emphasis has been on the preparation and characterization of two types of model systems with properties inspired by nature with future applications in bioanalysis, biosensors and ...

The objective of this study is to enhance the inhibition of ice growth in the aqueous solution of a polypeptide, which is inspired by winter flounder antifreeze protein. We carried out measurements on unidirectional freezing of the polypeptide solution. The thickness of the solution was 0.02 mm, and the concentration of polypeptide was varied from 0 to 2 mg/mL. We captured successive microscopi...

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) enable organisms to survive under freezing or sub-freezing conditions. AFPs have a great potential in the low temperature storage of cells, tissues, organs, and foods. This process will require a large number of recombinant AFPs. In the present study, the recombinant carrot AFP was highly expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3). The activity of the purified an...

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) enhance the survival of organisms inhabiting cold environments by affecting the formation and/or structure of ice. We report the crystal structure of the first multi-domain AFP that has been characterized. The two ice binding domains are structurally similar. Each consists of an irregular β-helix with a triangular cross-section and a long α-helix that runs parallel on...