Activation of antifreeze proteins from larvae of the beetle Dendroides canadensis

Anti freeze proteins (Afp): Properties, sources and applications - A review

Extreme cold marine and freshwater temperatures (below 4 °C) induce massive deterioration to the cell membranes of organisms resulting in the formation of ice crystals, consequently causing organelle damage or cell death. One of the adaptive mechanisms organisms have evolved to thrive in cold environments is the production of antifreeze proteins with the functional capabilities to withstand frigid temperatures. Antifreeze proteins are extensively identified in different cold-tolerant species and they facilitate the persistence of cold-adapted organisms by decreasing the freezing point of their body fluids. Various structurally diverse types of antifreeze proteins detected possess the ability to modify ice crystal growth by thermal hysteresis and ice recrystallization inhibition. The unique properties of antifreeze proteins have made them a promising resource in industry, biomedicine, food storage and cryobiology. This review collates the findings of the various studies carried out in the past and the recent developments observed in the properties, functional mechanisms, classification, distinct sources and the ever-increasing applications of antifreeze proteins. This review also summarizes the possibilities of the way forward to identify new avenues of research on anti-freeze proteins.

Supercooling-Promoting (Anti-ice Nucleation) Substances

Studies on supercooling-promoting substances (SCPSs) are reviewed introducing name of chemicals, experimental conditions and the supercooling capability (SCC) in all, so far recognized, reported SCPSs and results of our original study are presented in order to totally show the functional properties of SCPSs which are known in the present state. Many kinds of substances have been identified as SCPSs that promote supercooling of aqueous solutions in a non-colligative manner by reducing the ice nucleation capability (INC) of ice nucleators (INs). The SCC as revealed by reduction of freezing temperature (°C) by SCPSs differs greatly depending on the INs. While no single SCPS that affects homogeneous ice nucleation to reduce ice nucleation point has been found, many SCPSs have been found to reduce freezing temperatures by heterogeneous ice nucleation with a large fluctuation of SCC depending on the kind of heterogeneous IN. Not only SCPSs increase the degree of SCC (°C), but also some SCPSs have additional SCC to stabilize a supercooling state for a long term to stabilize supercooling against strong mechanical disturbance and to reduce sublimation of ice crystals. The mechanisms underlying the diverse functions of SCPSs remain to be determined in future studies.

From ice-binding proteins to bio-inspired antifreeze materials

Ice-binding proteins (IBP) facilitate survival under extreme conditions in diverse life forms. IBPs in polar fishes block further growth of internalized environmental ice and inhibit ice recrystallization of accumulated internal crystals. Algae use IBPs to structure ice, while ice adhesion is critical for the Antarctic bacterium Marinomonas primoryensis. Successful translation of this natural cryoprotective ability into man-made materials holds great promise but is still in its infancy. This review covers recent advances in the field of ice-binding proteins and their synthetic analogues, highlighting fundamental insights into IBP functioning as a foundation for the knowledge-based development of cheap, bio-inspired mimics through scalable production routes. Recent advances in the utilisation of IBPs and their analogues to e.g. improve cryopreservation, ice-templating strategies, gas hydrate inhibition and other technologies are presented.

Time-Lapse, in Situ Imaging of Ice Crystal Growth Using Confocal Microscopy

Ice crystals nucleate and grow when a water solution is cooled below its freezing point. The growth velocities and morphologies of the ice crystals depend on many parameters, such as the temperature of ice growth, the melting temperature, and the interactions of solutes with the growing crystals. Three types of morphologies may appear: dendritic, cellular (or fingerlike), or the faceted equilibrium form. Understanding and controlling which type of morphology is formed is essential in several domains, from biology to geophysics and materials science. Obtaining, in situ, three dimensional observations without introducing artifacts due to the experimental technique is nevertheless challenging. Here we show how we can use laser scanning confocal microscopy to follow in real-time the growth of smoothed and faceted ice crystals in zirconium acetate solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative observations can be made. In particular, we can precisely measure the lateral growth velocity of the crystals, a measure otherwise difficult to obtain. Such observations should help us understand the influence of the parameters that control the growth of ice crystals in various systems.

Detecting seasonal variation of antifreeze protein distribution in Rhagium mordax using immunofluorescence and high resolution microscopy

Larvae of the blackspotted pliers support beetle, Rhagium mordax, were collected monthly, for the duration of 2012 and fixed. The larvae were embedded in paraffin wax and sectioned. Using fluorophore-coupled antibodies specific to the R. mordax antifreeze protein, RmAFP1, sections were visualised with UV reflected light microscopy. An automated software analysis method was developed in order to discard autofluorescence, and quantify fluorescence from bound antibodies. The results show that R. mordax cuticle and gut exhibit a higher degree of fluorophore-bound fluorescence during summer, than in the cold months. It is hypothesised that R. mordax stores RmAFP1 in, or near, the fat body during times when freeze avoidance is not needed.

An open source cryostage and software analysis method for detection of antifreeze activity

The aim of this study is to provide the reader with a simple setup that can detect antifreeze proteins (AFP) by inhibition of ice recrystallisation in very small sample sizes. This includes an open source cryostage, a method for preparing and loading samples as well as a software analysis method. The entire setup was tested using hyperactive AFP from the cerambycid beetle, Rhagium mordax. Samples containing AFP were compared to buffer samples, and the results are visualised as crystal radius evolution over time and in absolute change over 30 min. Statistical analysis showed that samples containing AFP could reliably be told apart from controls after only two minutes of recrystallisation. The goal of providing a fast, cheap and easy method for detecting antifreeze proteins in solution was met, and further development of the system can be followed at https://github.com/pechano/cryostage.

Interaction of ice binding proteins with ice, water and ions

Ice binding proteins (IBPs) are produced by various cold-adapted organisms to protect their body tissues against freeze damage. First discovered in Antarctic fish living in shallow waters, IBPs were later found in insects, microorganisms, and plants. Despite great structural diversity, all IBPs adhere to growing ice crystals, which is essential for their extensive repertoire of biological functions. Some IBPs maintain liquid inclusions within ice or inhibit recrystallization of ice, while other types suppress freezing by blocking further ice growth. In contrast, ice nucleating proteins stimulate ice nucleation just below 0 °C. Despite huge commercial interest and major scientific breakthroughs, the precise working mechanism of IBPs has not yet been unraveled. In this review, the authors outline the state-of-the-art in experimental and theoretical IBP research and discuss future scientific challenges. The interaction of IBPs with ice, water and ions is examined, focusing in particular on ice growth inhibition mechanisms.

Animal ice-binding (antifreeze) proteins and glycolipids: an overview with emphasis on physiological function

Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) assist in subzero tolerance of multiple cold-tolerant organisms: animals, plants, fungi, bacteria etc. IBPs include: (1) antifreeze proteins (AFPs) with high thermal hysteresis antifreeze activity; (2) low thermal hysteresis IBPs; and (3) ice-nucleating proteins (INPs). Several structurally different IBPs have evolved, even within related taxa. Proteins that produce thermal hysteresis inhibit freezing by a non-colligative mechanism, whereby they adsorb onto ice crystals or ice-nucleating surfaces and prevent further growth. This lowers the so-called hysteretic freezing point below the normal equilibrium freezing/melting point, producing a difference between the two, termed thermal hysteresis. True AFPs with high thermal hysteresis are found in freeze-avoiding animals (those that must prevent freezing, as they die if frozen) especially marine fish, insects and other terrestrial arthropods where they function to prevent freezing at temperatures below those commonly experienced by the organism. Low thermal hysteresis IBPs are found in freeze-tolerant organisms (those able to survive extracellular freezing), and function to inhibit recrystallization – a potentially damaging process whereby larger ice crystals grow at the expense of smaller ones – and in some cases, prevent lethal propagation of extracellular ice into the cytoplasm. Ice-nucleator proteins inhibit supercooling and induce freezing in the extracellular fluid at high subzero temperatures in many freeze-tolerant species, thereby allowing them to control the location and temperature of ice nucleation, and the rate of ice growth. Numerous nuances to these functions have evolved. Antifreeze glycolipids with significant thermal hysteresis activity were recently identified in insects, frogs and plants.

Arginine, a key residue for the enhancing ability of an antifreeze protein of the beetle Dendroides canadensis

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) can produce a difference between the nonequilibrium freezing point and the melting point, termed thermal hysteresis (TH). The TH activity of an antifreeze protein (AFP) depends on the specific AFP and its concentration as well as the presence of cosolutes including low molecular mass solutes and/or proteins. We recently identified series of carboxylates and polyols as efficient enhancers for an AFP from the beetle Dendroides canadensis. In this study, we chemically modified DAFP-1 using the arginine-specific reagent 1,2-cyclohexanedione. We demonstrated that 1,2-cyclohexanedione specifically modifies one arginine residue and the modified DAFP-1 loses its enhancing ability completely or partially in the presence of previously identified enhancers. The stronger the enhancement ability of the enhancer on the native DAFP-1, the stronger the enhancement effect of the enhancer on the modified DAFP-1. The weaker enhancers (e.g., glycerol) completely lose their enhancement effect on the modified DAFP-1 due to their inability to compete with 1,2-cyclohexanedione for the arginine residue. Regeneration of the arginine residue using hydroxylamine fully restored the enhancing ability of DAFP-1. These studies indicated that an arginine residue is critical for the enhancing ability of DAFP-1 and the guanidinium group of the arginine residue is important for its interaction with the enhancers, where the general mechanism of arginine-ligand interaction is borne. This work may initiate a complete mechanistic study of the enhancement effect in AFPs.

Cold hardiness in relation to trace metal stress in the freeze-avoiding beetle Tenebrio molitor

The antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a family of proteins characterised by their ability to inhibit the growth of ice. These proteins have evolved as a protection against lethal freezing in freeze avoiding species. Metal stress has been shown to reduce the cold hardening in invertebrates, but no study has investigated how this type of stress affects the production of AFPs. This study demonstrates that exposure to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) reduces the normal developmental increase in AFP levels in Tenebrio molitor larvae reared under summer conditions. Exposure to winter conditions, however stimulated the production of AFPs in the metal exposed larvae, and raised the concentrations of AFPs to normal winter levels. The reduced level of AFPs in metal-stressed animals acclimated to summer conditions seems to arise from alterations in the normal gene expression of AFPs. The results indicate that metal exposure may cause freeze avoiding insects to become more susceptible to lethal freezing, as they enter the winter with lowered levels of AFPs. Such an effect cannot be revealed by ordinary toxicological tests, but may nevertheless be of considerable ecological importance.

The mechanism by which fish antifreeze proteins cause thermal hysteresis

Antifreeze proteins are characterised by their ability to prevent ice from growing upon cooling below the bulk melting point. This displacement of the freezing temperature of ice is limited and at a sufficiently low temperature a rapid ice growth takes place. The separation of the melting and freezing temperature is usually referred to as thermal hysteresis, and the temperature of ice growth is referred to as the hysteresis freezing point. The hysteresis is supposed to be the result of an adsorption of antifreeze proteins to the crystal surface. This causes the ice to grow as convex surface regions between adjacent adsorbed antifreeze proteins, thus lowering the temperature at which the crystal can visibly expand. The model requires that the antifreeze proteins are irreversibly adsorbed onto the ice surface within the hysteresis gap. This presupposition is apparently in conflict with several characteristic features of the phenomenon; the absence of superheating of ice in the presence of antifreeze proteins, the dependence of the hysteresis activity on the concentration of antifreeze proteins and the different capacities of different types of antifreeze proteins to cause thermal hysteresis at equimolar concentrations. In addition, there are structural obstacles that apparently would preclude irreversible adsorption of the antifreeze proteins to the ice surface; the bond strength necessary for irreversible adsorption and the absence of a clearly defined surface to which the antifreeze proteins may adsorb. This article deals with these apparent conflicts between the prevailing theory and the empirical observations. We first review the mechanism of thermal hysteresis with some modifications: we explain the hysteresis as a result of vapour pressure equilibrium between the ice surface and the ambient fluid fraction within the hysteresis gap due to a pressure build-up within the convex growth zones, and the ice growth as the result of an ice surface nucleation event at the hysteresis freezing point. We then go on to summarise the empirical data to show that the dependence of the hysteresis on the concentration of antifreeze proteins arises from an equilibrium exchange of antifreeze proteins between ice and solution at the melting point. This reversible association between antifreeze proteins and the ice is followed by an irreversible adsorption of the antifreeze proteins onto a newly formed crystal plane when the temperature is lowered below the melting point. The formation of the crystal plane is due to a solidification of the interfacial region, and the necessary bond strength is provided by the protein "freezing" to the surface. In essence: the antifreeze proteins are "melted off" the ice at the bulk melting point and "freeze" to the ice as the temperature is reduced to subfreezing temperatures. We explain the different hysteresis activities caused by different types of antifreeze proteins at equimolar concentrations as a consequence of their solubility features during the phase of reversible association between the proteins and the ice, i.e., at the melting point; a low water solubility results in a large fraction of the proteins being associated with the ice at the melting point. This leads to a greater density of irreversibly adsorbed antifreeze proteins at the ice surface when the temperature drops, and thus to a greater hysteresis activity. Reference is also made to observations on insect antifreeze proteins to emphasise the general validity of this approach.

Calcium interacts with antifreeze proteins and chitinase from cold-acclimated winter rye

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 CaCl2, MgCl2, or NaCl. Antifreeze activity was unaffected by salts before freezing, but decreased after freezing and thawing in CaCl2 and was recovered by adding a chelator. Ca2+ enhanced chitinase activity 3- to 5-fold in unfrozen samples, although hydrolytic activity also decreased after freezing and thawing in CaCl2. Native PAGE, circular dichroism, and Trp fluorescence experiments showed that the AFPs partially unfold after freezing and thawing, but they fold more compactly or aggregate in CaCl2. Ruthenium red, which binds to Ca(2+)-binding sites, readily stained AFPs in the absence of Ca2+, but less stain was visible after freezing and thawing AFPs in CaCl2. We conclude that the structure of AFPs changes during freezing and thawing, creating new Ca(2+)-binding sites. Once Ca2+ binds to those sites, antifreeze activity, chitinase activity and ruthenium red binding are all inhibited. Because free Ca2+ concentrations are typically low in the apoplast, antifreeze activity is probably stable to freezing and thawing in planta. Ca2+ may regulate chitinase activity if concentrations are increased locally by release from pectin or interaction with Ca(2+)-binding proteins. Furthermore, antifreeze activity can be easily maintained in vitro by including a chelator during frozen storage.

Insects and low temperatures: from molecular biology to distributions and abundance

Insects are the most diverse fauna on earth, with different species occupying a range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats from the tropics to the poles. Species inhabiting extreme low-temperature environments must either tolerate or avoid freezing to survive. While much is now known about the synthesis, biochemistry and function of the main groups of cryoprotectants involved in the seasonal processes of acclimatization and winter cold hardiness (ice-nucleating agents, polyols and antifreeze proteins), studies on the structural biology of these compounds have been more limited. The recent discovery of rapid cold-hardening, ice-interface desiccation and the daily resetting of critical thermal thresholds affecting mortality and mobility have emphasized the role of temperature as the most important abiotic factor, acting through physiological processes to determine ecological outcomes. These relationships are seen in key areas such as species responses to climate warming, forecasting systems for pest outbreaks and the establishment potential of alien species in new environments.

Effect of ice fraction and dilution factor on the antifreeze activity in the hemolymph of the cerambycid beetle Rhagium inquisitor

The freezing-melting hysteresis in a given volume of hemolymph from the cerambycid beetle Rhagium inquisitor was linearly and negatively related to the logarithm of the mass fraction of ice in the sample. When the ice fraction dropped by a factor of 10, the hysteresis activity increased by about 2 degrees C. When the hemolymph was diluted, the hysteresis activity was linearly and negatively related to the logarithm of the dilution factor. Dilution of the hemolymph by a factor of 2 led to a 1 degree C reduction in hysteresis activity. In the diluted samples, the ice growth took place along the a-axes, implying that the antifreeze peptides of insects block ice growth along the c-axis, in addition to the a-axis.

The role of endogenous antifreeze protein enhancers in the hemolymph thermal hysteresis activity of the beetle Dendroides canadensis

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) lower the freezing point of water by a non-colligative mechanism, but do not lower the melting point, therefore producing a difference between the freezing and melting points termed thermal hysteresis. Thermal hysteresis activity (THA) of AFPs from overwintering larvae of the beetle Dendroides canadensis is dependent upon AFP concentration and the presence of enhancers of THA which may be either other proteins or low molecular mass enhancers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative contributions of endogenous enhancers in winter D. canadensis hemolymph.Winter hemolymph collected over four successive winters (1997-1998 to 2000-2001) was tested. The first three of these winters were the warmest on record in this area, while December of the final year was the coldest on record. Protein and low molecular mass enhancers raised hemolymph THA 60-97% and 35-55%, respectively, based on hemolymph with peak THA for each year collected over the four successive winters. However, the hemolymph AFPs were not maximally enhanced since addition of the potent enhancer citrate (at non-physiologically high levels) resulted in large increases in THA. (13)NMR showed that glycerol was the only low molecular mass solute present in sufficiently high concentrations in the hemolymph to function as an enhancer. Maximum THA appears to be approximately 8.5 degrees C.

Antifreeze and ice nucleator proteins in terrestrial arthropods

Terrestrial arthropods survive subzero temperatures by becoming either freeze tolerant (survive body fluid freezing) or freeze avoiding (prevent body fluid freezing). Protein ice nucleators (PINs), which limit supercooling and induce freezing, and antifreeze proteins (AFPs), which function to prevent freezing, can have roles in both freeze tolerance and avoidance. Many freeze-tolerant insects produce hemolymph PINs, which induce freezing at high subzero temperatures thereby inhibiting lethal intracellular freezing. Some freeze-tolerant species have AFPs that function as cryoprotectants to prevent freeze damage. Although the mechanism of this cryoprotection is not known, it may involve recrystallization inhibition and perhaps stabilization of the cell membrane. Freeze-avoiding species must prevent inoculative freezing initiated by external ice across the cuticle and extend supercooling abilities. Some insects remove PINs in the winter to promote supercooling, whereas others have selected against surfaces with ice-nucleating abilities on an evolutionary time scale. However, many freeze-avoiding species do have proteins with ice-nucleating activity, and these proteins must be masked in winter. In the beetle Dendroides canadensis, AFPs in the hemolymph and gut inhibit ice nucleators. Also, hemolymph AFPs and those associated with the layer of epidermal cells under the cuticle inhibit inoculative freezing. Two different insect AFPs have been characterized. One type from the beetles D. canadensis and Tenebrio molitor consists of 12- and 13-mer repeating units with disulfide bridges occurring at least every six residues. The spruce budworm AFP lacks regular repeat units. Both have much higher activities than any known AFPs.

Thermal hysteresis proteins

Extreme environments present a wealth of biochemical adaptations. Thermal hysteresis proteins (THPs) have been found in vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, bacteria and fungi and are able to depress the freezing point of water (in the presence of ice crystals) in a non-colligative manner by binding to the surface of nascent ice crystals. The THPs comprise a disparate group of proteins with a variety of tertiary structures and often no common sequence similarities or structural motifs. Different THPs bind to different faces of the ice crystal, and no single mechanism has been proposed to account for THP ice binding affinity and specificity. Experimentally THPs have been used in the cryopreservation of tissues and cells and to induce cold tolerance in freeze susceptible organisms. THPs represent a remarkable example of parallel and convergent evolution with different proteins being adapted for an anti-freeze role.

Ice nucleation and antinucleation in nature

Plants and ectothermic animals use a variety of substances and mechanisms to survive exposure to subfreezing temperatures. Proteinaceous ice nucleators trigger freezing at high subzero temperatures, either to provide cold protection from released heat of fusion or to establish a protective extracellular freezing in freeze-tolerant species. Freeze-avoiding species increase their supercooling potential by removing ice nucleators and accumulating polyols. Terrestrial invertebrates and polar marine fish stabilize their supercooled state by means of noncolligatively acting antifreeze proteins. Some organisms also depress their body fluid melting point to ambient temperature by evaporation and/or solute accumulation.

Isolation and characterization of cDNA clones encoding antifreeze proteins of the pyrochroid beetle Dendroides canadensis

Temporal differences in the expression of Dendroides canadensis antifreeze protein (DAFP) are indicated from seasonal comparison of dafp-1 transcript level, thermal hysteresis activity and temperature changes. DAFP-1 transcript abundance correlates with the thermal hysteresis activity level in late fall/early winter and appears to follow overall seasonal temperature changes with peak transcript levels occurring in December. A cDNA library created from December larvae yielded clones encoding a set of novel putative DAFPs. Some of the cDNA clones isolated display significant divergence at the primary amino acid level, yet, maintain conservation of key residues that are presumably important for structure and function of antifreeze proteins in this cold-hardy organism. Seasonal analysis of two dafps (dafp-1 and dafp-7) revealed differences on the transcriptional level, suggesting that DAFPs may serve somewhat different functions.

Antifreeze proteins in winter rye leaves form oligomeric complexes

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) similar to three pathogenesis-related proteins, a glucanase-like protein (GLP), a chitinase-like protein (CLP), and a thaumatin-like protein (TLP), accumulate during cold acclimation in winter rye (Secale cereale) leaves, where they are thought to modify the growth of intercellular ice during freezing. The objective of this study was to characterize the rye AFPs in their native forms, and our results show that these proteins form oligomeric complexes in vivo. Nine proteins were separated by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis from apoplastic extracts of cold-acclimated winter rye leaves. Seven of these proteins exhibited multiple polypeptides when denatured and separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After isolation of the individual proteins, six were shown by immunoblotting to contain various combinations of GLP, CLP, and TLP in addition to other unidentified proteins. Antisera produced against individual cold-induced winter rye GLP, CLP, and TLP all dramatically inhibited glucanase activity in apoplastic extracts from cold-acclimated winter rye leaves, and each antiserum precipitated all three proteins. These results indicate that each of the polypeptides may be exposed on the surface of the protein complexes. By forming oligomeric complexes, AFPs may form larger surfaces to interact with ice, or they may simply increase the mass of the protein bound to ice. In either case, the complexes of AFPs may inhibit ice growth and recrystallization more effectively than the individual polypeptides.

Cloning and baculovirus expression of a desiccation stress gene from the beetle, Tenebrio molitor

The cDNA sequence encoding a novel desiccation stress protein (dsp28) found in the hemolymph of the common yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, has been determined. The sequence encodes a 225 amino acid protein containing a 20 amino acid signal peptide. Dsp28 shows no significant similarity to any known nucleic acid or protein sequence. Levels of dsp28 mRNA were found to increase approx 5-fold following desiccation. Dsp28 cDNA has been cloned into a baculovirus expression vector and the expressed protein was compared to native dsp28. Both dsp28 expressed by recombinant baculovirus and native dsp28 are glycosylated and N-terminally processed. Although dsp28 is induced by cold in addition to desiccation stress, it does not contribute to the freezing point depression (thermal hysteresis) observed in Tenebrio hemolymph.

Purification and characterization of a thermal hysteresis protein from a plant, the bittersweet nightshade Solanum dulcamara

Thermal hysteresis proteins (THPs), which depress the freezing point of water below the melting point (producing a characteristic thermal hysteresis), are well known for their antifreeze activity in both fish and terrestrial arthropods, but have only recently been identified in plants. This study describes the purification of a THP from winter-collected bittersweet nightshade, Solanum dulcamara, using ion exchange and preparative 'free flow' isoelectric focusing. The THP has a molecular mass of 67 kDa (considerably larger than those of animal THPs), and an unusually high glycine component (23.7 mol%). Treatments of the THP with periodate or borate caused inactivation, suggesting the presence of carbohydrate. More specific treatments directed at galactose (beta-galactosidase or Abrus precatorius lectin) also resulted in inactivation, indicating that galactose is present. A thermal hysteresis activity versus THP concentration curve showed that the specific activity of the S. dulcamara THP is lower than that of any known animal THP. The functional significance of this low activity is discussed.