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Baskaran A, Kaari M, Venugopal G, Manikkam R, Joseph J, Bhaskar PV. Anti freeze proteins (Afp): Properties, sources and applications - A review. Int J Biol Macromol 2021; 189:292-305. [PMID: 34419548 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.08.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abirami Baskaran
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Manigundan Kaari
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Gopikrishnan Venugopal
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Radhakrishnan Manikkam
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Jerrine Joseph
- Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Parli V Bhaskar
- National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Vasco-da-Gama 403804, Goa, India
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Analysis of the Sequence Characteristics of Antifreeze Protein. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11060520. [PMID: 34204983 PMCID: PMC8226703 DOI: 10.3390/life11060520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Antifreeze protein (AFP) is a proteinaceous compound with improved antifreeze ability and binding ability to ice to prevent its growth. As a surface-active material, a small number of AFPs have a tremendous influence on the growth of ice. Therefore, identifying novel AFPs is important to understand protein–ice interactions and create novel ice-binding domains. To date, predicting AFPs is difficult due to their low sequence similarity for the ice-binding domain and the lack of common features among different AFPs. Here, a computational engine was developed to predict the features of AFPs and reveal the most important 39 features for AFP identification, such as antifreeze-like/N-acetylneuraminic acid synthase C-terminal, insect AFP motif, C-type lectin-like, and EGF-like domain. With this newly presented computational method, a group of previously confirmed functional AFP motifs was screened out. This study has identified some potential new AFP motifs and contributes to understanding biological antifreeze mechanisms.
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Ptak-Kaczor M, Banach M, Stapor K, Fabian P, Konieczny L, Roterman I. Solubility and Aggregation of Selected Proteins Interpreted on the Basis of Hydrophobicity Distribution. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22095002. [PMID: 34066830 PMCID: PMC8125953 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22095002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein solubility is based on the compatibility of the specific protein surface with the polar aquatic environment. The exposure of polar residues to the protein surface promotes the protein’s solubility in the polar environment. The aquatic environment also influences the folding process by favoring the centralization of hydrophobic residues with the simultaneous exposure to polar residues. The degree of compatibility of the residue distribution, with the model of the concentration of hydrophobic residues in the center of the molecule, with the simultaneous exposure of polar residues is determined by the sequence of amino acids in the chain. The fuzzy oil drop model enables the quantification of the degree of compatibility of the hydrophobicity distribution observed in the protein to a form fully consistent with the Gaussian 3D function, which expresses an idealized distribution that meets the preferences of the polar water environment. The varied degrees of compatibility of the distribution observed with the idealized one allow the prediction of preferences to interactions with molecules of different polarity, including water molecules in particular. This paper analyzes a set of proteins with different levels of hydrophobicity distribution in the context of the solubility of a given protein and the possibility of complex formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Ptak-Kaczor
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland; (M.P.-K.); (M.B.)
- Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
| | - Mateusz Banach
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland; (M.P.-K.); (M.B.)
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Institute of Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland; (K.S.); (P.F.)
| | - Piotr Fabian
- Institute of Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland; (K.S.); (P.F.)
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair of Medical Biochemistry—Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Kopernika 7, 31-034 Kraków, Poland;
| | - Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland; (M.P.-K.); (M.B.)
- Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence:
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Crystal structure of an insect antifreeze protein reveals ordered waters on the ice-binding surface. Biochem J 2021; 477:3271-3286. [PMID: 32794579 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20200539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are characterized by their ability to adsorb to the surface of ice crystals and prevent any further crystal growth. AFPs have independently evolved for this purpose in a variety of organisms that encounter the threat of freezing, including many species of polar fish, insects, plants and microorganisms. Despite their diverse origins and structures, it has been suggested that all AFPs can organize ice-like water patterns on one side of the protein (the ice-binding site) that helps bind the AFP to ice. Here, to test this hypothesis, we have solved the crystal structure at 2.05 Å resolution of an AFP from the longhorn beetle, Rhagium mordax with five molecules in the unit cell. This AFP is hyperactive, and its crystal structure resembles that of the R. inquisitor ortholog in having a β-solenoid fold with a wide, flat ice-binding surface formed by four parallel rows of mainly Thr residues. The key difference between these structures is that the R. inquisitor AFP crystallized with its ice-binding site (IBS) making protein-protein contacts that limited the surface water patterns. Whereas the R. mordax AFP crystallized with the IBSs exposed to solvent enabling two layers of unrestricted ordered surface waters to be seen. These crystal waters make close matches to ice lattice waters on the basal and primary prism planes.
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Hobbs RS, Hall JR, Graham LA, Davies PL, Fletcher GL. Antifreeze protein dispersion in eelpouts and related fishes reveals migration and climate alteration within the last 20 Ma. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0243273. [PMID: 33320906 PMCID: PMC7737890 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rod S. Hobbs
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Jennifer R. Hall
- Aquatic Research Cluster, CREAIT Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Laurie A. Graham
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Peter L. Davies
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Garth L. Fletcher
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
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Ice Binding Proteins: Diverse Biological Roles and Applications in Different Types of Industry. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10020274. [PMID: 32053888 PMCID: PMC7072191 DOI: 10.3390/biom10020274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2019] [Revised: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
More than 80% of Earth’s surface is exposed periodically or continuously to temperatures below 5 °C. Organisms that can live in these areas are called psychrophilic or psychrotolerant. They have evolved many adaptations that allow them to survive low temperatures. One of the most interesting modifications is production of specific substances that prevent living organisms from freezing. Psychrophiles can synthesize special peptides and proteins that modulate the growth of ice crystals and are generally called ice binding proteins (IBPs). Among them, antifreeze proteins (AFPs) inhibit the formation of large ice grains inside the cells that may damage cellular organelles or cause cell death. AFPs, with their unique properties of thermal hysteresis (TH) and ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI), have become one of the promising tools in industrial applications like cryobiology, food storage, and others. Attention of the industry was also caught by another group of IBPs exhibiting a different activity—ice-nucleating proteins (INPs). This review summarizes the current state of art and possible utilizations of the large group of IBPs.
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Verreault D, Alamdari S, Roeters SJ, Pandey R, Pfaendtner J, Weidner T. Ice-binding site of surface-bound type III antifreeze protein partially decoupled from water. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:26926-26933. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp03382j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Combined SFG/MD analysis together with spectral calculations revealed that type III antifreeze proteins adsorbed at the air–water interface maintains a native state and adopts an orientation that leads to a partial decoupling of its ice-binding site from water.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarah Alamdari
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University of Washington
- Seattle
- USA
| | | | - Ravindra Pandey
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology
- Roorkee 247667
- India
| | - Jim Pfaendtner
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University of Washington
- Seattle
- USA
| | - Tobias Weidner
- Department of Chemistry
- Aarhus University
- 8000 Aarhus C
- Denmark
- Department of Chemical Engineering
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Ando Y, Nei D, Kono S, Nabetani H. Current State and Future Issues of Technology Development Concerned with Freezing and Thawing of Foods. J JPN SOC FOOD SCI 2017. [DOI: 10.3136/nskkk.64.391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Shinji Kono
- Research and Development Center, Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd
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Sun T, Gauthier SY, Campbell RL, Davies PL. Revealing Surface Waters on an Antifreeze Protein by Fusion Protein Crystallography Combined with Molecular Dynamic Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:12808-15. [PMID: 26371748 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b06474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) adsorb to ice through an extensive, flat, relatively hydrophobic surface. It has been suggested that this ice-binding site (IBS) organizes surface waters into an ice-like clathrate arrangement that matches and fuses to the quasi-liquid layer on the ice surface. On cooling, these waters join the ice lattice and freeze the AFP to its ligand. Evidence for the generality of this binding mechanism is limited because AFPs tend to crystallize with their IBS as a preferred protein-protein contact surface, which displaces some bound waters. Type III AFP is a 7 kDa globular protein with an IBS made up two adjacent surfaces. In the crystal structure of the most active isoform (QAE1), the part of the IBS that docks to the primary prism plane of ice is partially exposed to solvent and has clathrate waters present that match this plane of ice. The adjacent IBS, which matches the pyramidal plane of ice, is involved in protein-protein crystal contacts with few surface waters. Here we have changed the protein-protein contacts in the ice-binding region by crystallizing a fusion of QAE1 to maltose-binding protein. In this 1.9 Å structure, the IBS that fits the pyramidal plane of ice is exposed to solvent. By combining crystallography data with MD simulations, the surface waters on both sides of the IBS were revealed and match well with the target ice planes. The waters on the pyramidal plane IBS were loosely constrained, which might explain why other isoforms of type III AFP that lack the prism plane IBS are less active than QAE1. The AFP fusion crystallization method can potentially be used to force the exposure to solvent of the IBS on other AFPs to reveal the locations of key surface waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjun Sun
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University , Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sherry Y Gauthier
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University , Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert L Campbell
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University , Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter L Davies
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University , Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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Duman JG. Animal ice-binding (antifreeze) proteins and glycolipids: an overview with emphasis on physiological function. J Exp Biol 2015; 218:1846-55. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.116905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
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.
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