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A thermal hysteresis-producing xylomannan glycolipid antifreeze associated with cold tolerance is found in diverse taxa

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Abstract

The presence of large-molecular-mass, thermal hysteresis (TH)-producing antifreezes (e.g., antifreeze proteins) has been reported in numerous and diverse taxa, including representative species of fish, arthropods, plants, fungi, and bacteria. However, relatively few of these antifreeze molecules have been chemically characterized. We screened diverse species by subjecting their homogenates to ice-affinity purification and discovered the presence of a newly identified class of antifreeze, a xylomannan-based TH-producing glycolipid that was previously reported in one species of freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle. We isolated xylomannan-based antifreeze glycolipids from one plant species, six insect species, and the first frog species to be shown to produce a large-molecular-mass antifreeze. 1H NMR spectra of the ice-purified molecules isolated from these diverse freeze-tolerant and freeze-avoiding organisms were nearly identical, indicating that the chemical structures of the glycolipids were highly similar. Although the exact functions remain uncertain, it appears that antifreeze glycolipids play a role in cold tolerance.

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Abbreviations

TH:

Thermal hysteresis

AF(G)Ps:

Antifreeze (glyco)proteins

AFGLs:

Antifreeze glycolipids

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Science Foundation grants OPP-0117104 and IOS-0618342 to JD and BB.

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Author notes

  1. Kent R. Walters Jr.

    Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

  2. Todd Sformo

    Present address: Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Kent R. Walters Jr. & John G. Duman

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Anthony S. Serianni

  3. Physiologie des régulations énergétiques, cellulaires, et moléculaires (UMR CNRS 5123), Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Villeurbanne, France

    Yann Voituron

  4. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Todd Sformo & Brian M. Barnes

Authors
  1. Kent R. Walters Jr.
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  2. Anthony S. Serianni
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Correspondence to Kent R. Walters Jr..

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Communicated by H.V. Carey.

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Walters, K.R., Serianni, A.S., Voituron, Y. et al. A thermal hysteresis-producing xylomannan glycolipid antifreeze associated with cold tolerance is found in diverse taxa. J Comp Physiol B 181, 631–640 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-011-0552-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-011-0552-8

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