Antifreeze peptide heterogeneity in an antarctic eel pout includes an unusually large major variant comprised of two 7 kDa type III AFPs linked in tandem

High-speed rail model reveals the gene tandem amplification mediated by short repeated sequence in eukaryote

The occurrence of gene duplication/amplification (GDA) provide potential material for adaptive evolution with environmental stress. Several molecular models have been proposed to explain GDA, recombination via short stretches of sequence similarity plays a crucial role. By screening genomes for such events, we propose a “SRS (short repeated sequence) *N + unit + SRS*N” amplified unit under USCE (unequal sister-chromatid exchange) for tandem amplification mediated by SRS with different repeat numbers in eukaryotes. The amplified units identified from 2131 well-organized amplification events that generate multi gene/element copy amplified with subsequent adaptive evolution in the respective species. Genomic data we analyzed showed dynamic changes among related species or subspecies or plants from different ecotypes/strains. This study clarifies the characteristics of variable copy number SRS on both sides of amplified unit under USCE mechanism, to explain well-organized gene tandem amplification under environmental stress mediated by SRS in all eukaryotes.

Structural diversity of marine anti-freezing proteins, properties and potential applications: a review

Cold-adapted organisms, such as fishes, insects, plants and bacteria produce a group of proteins known as antifreeze proteins (AFPs). The specific functions of AFPs, including thermal hysteresis (TH), ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI), dynamic ice shaping (DIS) and interaction with membranes, attracted significant interest for their incorporation into commercial products. AFPs represent their effects by lowering the water freezing point as well as preventing the growth of ice crystals and recrystallization during frozen storage. The potential of AFPs to modify ice growth results in ice crystal stabilizing over a defined temperature range and inhibiting ice recrystallization, which could minimize drip loss during thawing, improve the quality and increase the shelf-life of frozen products. Most cryopreservation studies using marine-derived AFPs have shown that the addition of AFPs can increase post-thaw viability. Nevertheless, the reduced availability of bulk proteins and the need of biotechnological techniques for industrial production, limit the possible usage in foods. Despite all these drawbacks, relatively small concentrations are enough to show activity, which suggests AFPs as potential food additives in the future. The present work aims to review the results of numerous investigations on marine-derived AFPs and discuss their structure, function, physicochemical properties, purification and potential applications.

Antifreeze protein dispersion in eelpouts and related fishes reveals migration and climate alteration within the last 20 Ma

Antifreeze proteins inhibit ice growth and are crucial for the survival of supercooled fish living in icy seawater. Of the four antifreeze protein types found in fishes, the globular type III from eelpouts is the one restricted to a single infraorder (Zoarcales), which is the only clade know to have antifreeze protein-producing species at both poles. Our analysis of over 60 unique antifreeze protein gene sequences from several Zoarcales species indicates this gene family arose around 18 Ma ago, in the Northern Hemisphere, supporting recent data suggesting that the Arctic Seas were ice-laden earlier than originally thought. The Antarctic was subject to widespread glaciation over 30 Ma and the Notothenioid fishes that produce an unrelated antifreeze glycoprotein extensively exploited the adjoining seas. We show that species from one Zoarcales family only encroached on this niche in the last few Ma, entering an environment already dominated by ice-resistant fishes, long after the onset of glaciation. As eelpouts are one of the dominant benthic fish groups of the deep ocean, they likely migrated from the north to Antarctica via the cold depths, losing all but the fully active isoform gene along the way. In contrast, northern species have retained both the fully active (QAE) and partially active (SP) isoforms for at least 15 Ma, which suggests that the combination of isoforms is functionally advantageous.

Marine Antifreeze Proteins: Structure, Function, and Application to Cryopreservation as a Potential Cryoprotectant

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are biological antifreezes with unique properties, including thermal hysteresis(TH),ice recrystallization inhibition(IRI),and interaction with membranes and/or membrane proteins. These properties have been utilized in the preservation of biological samples at low temperatures. Here, we review the structure and function of marine-derived AFPs, including moderately active fish AFPs and hyperactive polar AFPs. We also survey previous and current reports of cryopreservation using AFPs. Cryopreserved biological samples are relatively diverse ranging from diatoms and reproductive cells to embryos and organs. Cryopreserved biological samples mainly originate from mammals. Most cryopreservation trials using marine-derived AFPs have demonstrated that addition of AFPs can improve post-thaw viability regardless of freezing method (slow-freezing or vitrification), storage temperature, and types of biological sample type.

Multivalent Display of Antifreeze Proteins by Fusion to Self-Assembling Protein Cages Enhances Ice-Binding Activities

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are small monomeric proteins that adsorb to the surface of ice to inhibit ice crystal growth and impart freeze resistance to the organisms producing them. Previously, monomeric AFPs have been conjugated to the termini of branched polymers to increase their activity through the simultaneous binding of more than one AFP to ice. Here, we describe a superior approach to increasing AFP activity through oligomerization that eliminates the need for conjugation reactions with varying levels of efficiency. A moderately active AFP from a fish and a hyperactive AFP from an Antarctic bacterium were genetically fused to the C-termini of one component of the 24-subunit protein cage T33-21, resulting in protein nanoparticles that multivalently display exactly 12 AFPs. The resulting nanoparticles exhibited freezing point depression >50-fold greater than that seen with the same concentration of monomeric AFP and a similar increase in the level of ice-recrystallization inhibition. These results support the anchored clathrate mechanism of binding of AFP to ice. The enhanced freezing point depression could be due to the difficulty of overgrowing a larger AFP on the ice surface and the improved ice-recrystallization inhibition to the ability of the nanoparticle to simultaneously bind multiple ice grains. Oligomerization of these proteins using self-assembling protein cages will be useful in a variety of biotechnology and cryobiology applications.

Adsorption thermodynamics of two-domain antifreeze proteins: theory and Monte Carlo simulations

In this paper we develop the statistical thermodynamics of two-domain antifreeze proteins adsorbed on ice. We use a coarse-grained model and a lattice network in order to represent the protein and ice, respectively. The theory is obtained by combining the exact analytical expression for the partition function of non-interacting linear k-mers adsorbed in one dimension, and its extension to higher dimensions. The total and partial adsorption isotherms, and the coverage and temperature dependence of the Helmholtz free energy and configurational entropy are given. The formalism reproduces the classical Langmuir equation, leads to the exact statistical thermodynamics of molecules adsorbed in one dimension, and provides a close approximation for two-dimensional systems. Comparisons with analytical data obtained using the modified Langmuir model (MLM) and Monte Carlo simulations in the grand canonical ensemble were performed in order to test the validity of the theoretical predictions. In the MC calculations, the different mechanisms proposed in the literature to describe the adsorption of two-domain antifreeze proteins on ice were analyzed. Indistinguishable results were obtained in all cases, which verifies the thermodynamic equivalence of these mechanisms and allows the choice of the most suitable mechanism for theoretical studies of equilibrium properties. Even though a good qualitative agreement is obtained between MLM and MC data, it is found that the new theoretical framework offers a more accurate description of the phenomenon of adsorption of two-domain antifreeze proteins.

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.

Purification, crystal structure determination and functional characterization of type III antifreeze proteins from the European eelpout Zoarces viviparus

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are essential components of many organisms adaptation to cold temperatures. Fish type III AFPs are divided into two groups, SP isoforms being much less active than QAE1 isoforms. Two type III AFPs from Zoarces viviparus, a QAE1 (ZvAFP13) and an SP (ZvAFP6) isoform, are here characterized and their crystal structures determined. We conclude that the higher activity of the QAE1 isoforms cannot be attributed to single residues, but rather a combination of structural effects. Furthermore both ZvAFP6 and ZvAFP13 crystal structures have water molecules around T18 equivalent to the tetrahedral-like waters previously identified in a neutron crystal structure. Interestingly, ZvAFP6 forms dimers in the crystal, with a significant dimer interface. The presence of ZvAFP6 dimers was confirmed in solution by native electrophoresis and gel filtration. To our knowledge this is the first report of dimerization of AFP type III proteins.

Utilizing avidity to improve antifreeze protein activity: a type III antifreeze protein trimer exhibits increased thermal hysteresis activity

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are ice growth inhibitors that allow the survival of several species living at temperatures colder than the freezing point of their bodily fluids. AFP activity is commonly defined in terms of thermal hysteresis, which is the difference observed for the solution freezing and melting temperatures. Increasing the thermal hysteresis activity of these proteins, particularly at low concentrations, is of great interest because of their wide range of potential applications. In this study, we have designed and expressed one-, two-, and three-domain antifreeze proteins to improve thermal hysteresis activity through increased binding avidity. The three-domain type III AFP yielded significantly greater activity than the one- and two-domain proteins, reaching a thermal hysteresis of >1.6 °C at a concentration of <1 mM. To elucidate the basis of this increase, the data were fit to a multidomain protein adsorption model based on the classical Langmuir isotherm. Fits of the data to the modified isotherms yield values for the equilibrium binding constants for the adsorption of AFP to ice and indicate that protein surface coverage is proportional to thermal hysteresis activity.

Antifreeze protein gene amplification facilitated niche exploitation and speciation in wolffish

During winter, the coastal waters of Newfoundland can be considered a 'freeze risk ecozone' for teleost fishes, where the shallower habitats pose a high (and the deeper habitats a low) risk of freezing. Atlantic (Anarhichas lupus) and spotted (Anarhichas minor) wolffish, which inhabit these waters, reside at opposite ends of this ecozone, with the Atlantic wolffish being the species facing the greatest risk, because of its shallower niche. In order to resist freezing, this species secretes five times the level of antifreeze protein (AFP) activity into the plasma than does the spotted wolffish. The main basis for this interspecific difference in AFP levels is gene dosage, as the Atlantic wolffish has approximately three times as many AFP gene copies as the spotted wolffish. In addition, AFP transcript levels in liver (the primary source of circulating AFPs) are several times higher in the Atlantic wolffish. One explanation for the difference in gene dosage and transcript levels is the presence of tandemly arrayed repeats in the latter, which make up two-thirds of its AFP gene pool. Such repeats are not present in the spotted wolffish. The available evidence indicates that the two species diverged from a common ancestor at a time when the ebb and flow of northern glaciations would have resulted in the emergence of shallow water 'freeze risk ecozones'. The results of this study suggest that the duplication/amplification of AFP genes in a subpopulation of ancestral wolffish would have facilitated the exploitation of this high-risk habitat, resulting in the divergence and evolution of modern-day Atlantic and spotted wolffish species.

Characterization of the ice-binding protein from Arctic yeast Leucosporidium sp. AY30

Previously, we reported the ice-binding protein (LeIBP) from the Arctic yeast Leucosporidium sp. AY30. In this study we provide physicochemical characterization of this IBP, which belongs to a class of IBPs that exhibited no significant similarity in primary structure to other known antifreeze proteins (AFPs). We compared native, glycosylated and non-glycosylated recombinant LeIBPs. Interestingly, size-exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation revealed that LeIBP self-associates with a reversible dimer with K(d) values in the range 3.45-7.24×10(-6) M. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that LeIBP, glycosylated or non-glycosylated, is predominantly composed of β-strand secondary structural elements (54.6%), similar to other β-helical antifreeze proteins (AFPs). In thermal hysteresis (TH) activity measurements, native LeIBP was twice more active (0.87 °C at 15 mg/mL) than that of the recombinant IBPs (0.43-0.42 °C at 10.8 mg/mL). This discrepancy is probably due to uncharacterized enhancing factors carried over during ice affinity purification, because glycosylated and non-glycosylated recombinant proteins displayed similarly low activity. Ice recrystallization inhibition (RI) activities of the native and recombinant LeIBPs were comparable. Measurements of CD, TH activity, and RI showed that glycosylation does not cause structural changes and is not required for function. An ice-etching experiment using green fluorescent protein-tagged IBP revealed that LeIBP binds, just as hyperactive AFPs, to both basal and pyramidal prism planes of the ice crystal. Taken together, our results indicate that LeIBP, structurally similar to hyperactive AFPs, is moderately active and that a reversible dimer has no effect on its activity.

Functional diversification and evolution of antifreeze proteins in the antarctic fish Lycodichthys dearborni

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) have independently evolved in many organisms. AFPs act by binding to ice crystals, effectively lowering the freezing point. AFPs are often at high copy number in a genome and diversity exists between copies. Type III antifreeze proteins are found in Arctic and Antarctic eel pouts, and have previously been shown to evolve under positive selection. Here we combine molecular and proteomic techniques to understand the molecular evolution and diversity of Type III antifreeze proteins in a single individual Antarctic fish Lycodichthys dearborni. Our expressed sequence tag (EST) screen reveals that at least seven different AFP variants are transcribed, which are ultimately translated into five different protein isoforms. The isoforms have identical 66 base pair signal sequences and different numbers of subsequent ice-binding domains followed by a stop codon. Isoforms with one ice-binding unit (monomer), two units (dimer), and multiple units (multimer) were present in the EST library. We identify a previously uncharacterized protein dimer, providing further evidence that there is diversity between Type III AFP isoforms, perhaps driven by positive selection for greater thermal hysteresis. Proteomic analysis confirms that several of these isoforms are translated and present in the liver. Our molecular evolution study shows that paralogs have diverged under positive selection. We hypothesize that antifreeze protein diversity is an important contributor to depressing the serum freezing point.

Two domains of RD3 antifreeze protein diffuse independently

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) make up a class of structurally diverse proteins that help to protect many organisms from freezing temperatures by inhibiting ice crystal growth at temperatures below the colligative freezing point. AFPs are typically small proteins with a relatively flat, slightly hydrophobic binding region that matches the lattice structure of a specific ice crystal plane. The only known two-domain AFP is RD3 from the Antarctic eel pout. It consists of two nearly identical type III domains connected by a nine-residue linker. This protein exhibits higher activity than the single-domain protein at low concentrations. The initial solution structure of RD3 revealed that the domains were aligned so that the binding regions were nearly coplanar, effectively doubling the surface area for binding. A more recent report suggests that the domains may not be aligned in solution but rather diffuse independently. To resolve the issue, we have measured the NMR residual dipolar couplings using alignment media of stretched gels and filamentous phage to determine the relative orientation of the domains. We find that the two domains of RD3 are free to move relative to each other, within the constraint of the flexible nine-residue linker. Our data show that there is no strongly preferred alignment in solution. Furthermore, the flexibility and length of the linker are sufficient to allow the two domains to have their binding faces in the same orientation and coplanar for simultaneous binding to an ice crystal surface.

Activity of a two-domain antifreeze protein is not dependent on linker sequence

The reported NMR structure of RD3, a naturally occurring two-domain antifreeze protein, suggests that the two nearly identical domains are oriented to allow simultaneous binding of their active regions to the ice surface. It is implied that the nine residues linking the two domains play a role in this alignment, but this has not been established. We have designed and expressed a modified form of RD3 that replaces the nine-residue linker with a generic sequence of one serine and eight glycine residues to test the importance of the linker amino acid sequence. The modified linker is shown to have significantly different characteristics compared to the original linker. Heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser effect experiments show that the new linker residues have more mobility than the linker residues in the native protein. Further, NMR data show that the folding of the C-terminal domain is somewhat perturbed by the altered linker. Finally, distributions of residual dipolar couplings indicate that the two domains tumble and move independently of each other. Nevertheless, the thermal hysteresis activity of the modified protein is indistinguishable from that of native RD3, proving that increased activity of the two-domain antifreeze protein is not dependent on structure of the linker.

Nonhepatic origin of notothenioid antifreeze reveals pancreatic synthesis as common mechanism in polar fish freezing avoidance

Phylogenetically diverse polar and subpolar marine teleost fishes have evolved antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs) to avoid inoculative freezing by internalized ice. For over three decades since the first fish antifreeze (AF) protein was discovered, many studies of teleost freezing avoidance showed hepatic AF synthesis and distribution within the circulation as pivotal in preventing the blood, and therefore the fish, from freezing. We have uncovered an important twist to this long-held paradigm: the complete absence of liver synthesis of AFGPs in any life stage of the Antarctic notothenioids, indicating that the liver plays no role in the freezing avoidance in these fishes. Instead, we found the exocrine pancreas to be the major site of AFGP synthesis and secretion in all life stages, and that pancreatic AFGPs enter the intestinal lumen via the pancreatic duct to prevent ingested ice from nucleating the hyposmotic intestinal fluids. AFGPs appear to remain undegraded in the intestinal milieu, and the composition and relative abundance of intestinal AFGP isoforms are nearly identical to serum AFGPs. Thus, the reabsorption of intact pancreas-derived intestinal AFGPs, and not the liver, is the likely source of circulatory AFGPs in notothenioid fishes. We examined diverse northern fish taxa and Antarctic eelpouts with hepatic synthesis of bloodborne AF and found that they also express secreted pancreatic AF of their respective types. The evolutionary convergence of this functional physiology underscores the hitherto largely unrecognized importance of intestinal freezing prevention in polar teleost freezing avoidance, especially in the chronically icy Antarctic waters.

Co-operative effect of the isoforms of type III antifreeze protein expressed in Notched-fin eelpout, Zoarces elongatus Kner

We found that Notched-fin eelpout, which lives off the north east coast of Japan, expresses an antifreeze protein (AFP). The liver of this fish contains DNAs that encode at least 13 type III AFP isoforms (denoted nfeAFPs). The primary sequences of the nfeAFP isoforms were categorized into SP- and QAE-sephadex binding groups, and the latter were further divided into two subgroups, QAE1 and QAE2 groups. Ice crystals observed in HPLC-pure nfeAFP fractions are bipyramidal in shape with different ratios of c and a axes, suggesting that all the isoforms are able to bind ice. We expressed five recombinant isoforms of nfeAFP and analyzed the thermal hysteresis (TH) activity of each as a function of protein concentration. We also examined the change in activity on mixing the isoforms. TH was estimated to be 0.60 degrees C for the QAE1 isoform, 0.11 degrees C for QAE2, and almost zero for the SP isoforms when the concentrations of these isoforms was standardized to 1.0 mm. Significantly, the TH activity of the SP isoforms showed concentration dependence in the presence of 0.2 mm QAE1, indicating that the less active SP isoform becomes 'active' when a small amount of QAE1 is added. In contrast, it does not become active on the addition of another SP isoform. These results suggest that the SP and QAE isoforms of type III AFP have different levels of TH activity, and they accomplish the antifreeze function in a co-operative manner.

Antifreeze protein dimer: when two ice-binding faces are better than one

A naturally occurring tandem duplication of the 7-kDa type III antifreeze protein from Antarctic eel pout (Lycodichthys dearborni) is twice as active as the monomer in depressing the freezing point of a solution. We have investigated the basis for this enhanced activity by producing recombinant analogues of the linked dimer that assess the effects of protein size and the number and area of the ice-binding site(s). The recombinant dimer connected by a peptide linker had twice the activity of the monomer. When one of the two ice-binding sites was inactivated by site-directed mutagenesis, the linked dimer was only 1.2 times more effective than the monomer. When the two monomers were linked through a C-terminal disulfide bond in such a way that their two ice-binding sites were opposite each other and unable to engage the same ice surface simultaneously, the dimer was again only 1.2 times as active as the monomer. We conclude from these analyses that the enhanced activity of the dimer stems from the two ice-binding sites being able to engage to ice at the same time, effectively doubling the area of the ice-binding site.

Artificial multimers of the type III antifreeze protein. Effects on thermal hysteresis and ice crystal morphology

A variant of antifreeze protein (AFP) named RD3 from antarctic eel pout (Lycodichthys dearborni) comprises the type III AFP intramolecular dimer, which is known to exhibit a significant enhancement of thermal hysteresis when compared with the type III AFP monomer (Miura, K., Ohgiya, S., Hoshino, T, Nemoto, N., Suetake, T., Miura, A, Spyracopoulos, L., Kondo, H., and Tsuda, S. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 1304-1310). Here we genetically synthesized intramolecular dimer, trimer, and tetramer of the type III AFP, for which we utilize the genes encoding the primary sequences of the N-domain, the C-domain, and the 9-residue linker of RD3, and we examined the AFP multimerization effects on thermal hysteresis and ice crystal morphology. Significantly, (i) the thermal hysteresis increases in proportion with the size of the multimers, (ii) a larger size of the multimer exerts the maximum activity at lower concentration, (iii) every multimer changes the morphology of a single ice crystal into a unique shape that is similar but not identical to the ordinary hexagonal bipyramid, and (iv) the size of ice crystal becomes dramatically small with increasing the concentration of the multimer. The thermal hysteresis enhancement of the multimer was detected in both molar and domain bases. These results suggest that a molecule comprising the multiple AFP domains connected in tandem acquires an enhanced affinity for the ice binding.

The refined crystal structure of an eel pout type III antifreeze protein RD1 at 0.62-A resolution reveals structural microheterogeneity of protein and solvation

RD1 is a 7-kDa globular protein from the Antarctic eel pout Lycodichthys dearborni. It belongs to type III of the four types of antifreeze proteins (AFPs) found in marine fishes living at subzero temperatures. For type III AFP, a potential ice-binding flat surface has been identified and is imbedded with side chains capable of making hydrogen bonds with a specific lattice plane on ice. So far, all crystallographic studies on type III AFPs were carried out using the Atlantic ocean pout Macrozoarces americanus as the source organism. Here we present the crystal structure of a type III AFP from a different zoarcid fish, and at an ultra-high resolution of 0.62 A. The protein fold of RD1 comprises a compact globular domain with two internal tandem motifs arranged about a pseudo-dyad symmetry. Each motif of the "pretzel fold" includes four short beta-strands and a 3(10) helix. There is a novel internal cavity of 45 A(3) surrounded by eight conserved nonpolar residues. The model contains several residues with alternate conformations, and a number of split water molecules, probably caused by alternate interactions with the protein molecule. After extensive refinement that includes hydrogen atoms, significant residual electron densities associated with the electrons of peptides and many other bonds could be visualized.

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.

Understanding the mechanism of ice binding by type III antifreeze proteins

Type III antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are present in the body fluids of some polar fishes where they inhibit ice growth at subzero temperatures. Previous studies of the structure of type III AFP by NMR and X-ray identified a remarkably flat surface on the protein containing amino acids that were demonstrated to be important for interaction with ice by mutational studies. It was proposed that this protein surface binds onto the (1 0 [\bar 1] 0) plane of ice with the key amino acids interacting directly with the water molecules in the ice crystal. Here, we show that the mechanism of type III AFP interaction with ice crystals is more complex than that proposed previously. We report a high-resolution X-ray structure of type III AFP refined at 1.15 A resolution with individual anisotropic temperature factors. We report the results of ice-etching experiments that show a broad surface coverage, suggesting that type III AFP binds to a set of planes that are parallel with or inclined at a small angle to the crystallographic c-axis of the ice crystal. Our modelling studies, performed with the refined structure, confirm that type III AFP can make energetically favourable interactions with several ice surfaces.

NMR analysis of type III antifreeze protein intramolecular dimer. Structural basis for enhanced activity

The structure of a new antifreeze protein (AFP) variant, RD3, from antarctic eel pout (Rhigophila dearborni) with enhanced activity has been determined for the first time by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RD3 comprises a unique translational topology of two homologous type III AFP globular domains, each containing one flat, ice binding plane. The ice binding plane of the N domain is located approximately 3.5 A "behind" that of the C domain. The two ice binding planes are located laterally with an angle of 32 +/- 12 degrees between the planes. These results suggest that the C domain plane of RD3 binds first to the ice [1010] prism plane in the <0001> direction, which induces successive ice binding of the N domain in the <0101> direction. This manner of ice binding caused by the unique structural topology of RD3 is thought to be crucial for the significant enhancement of antifreeze activity, especially at low AFP concentrations.

Antifreeze proteins

Antifreeze proteins comprise a structurally diverse class of proteins that inhibit the growth of ice. Recently, new AFP types have been discovered; more active AFPs have been isolated; antecedents have been recognized supporting the notion of recent, multiple origins; and detailed structures have emerged leading to models for their adsorption to ice.