Cryoprotectants and ice-binding proteins

Abstract

Some bacteria have developed a variety of strategies to survive and colonize extremely cold environments such as the Antarctic and the Arctic (Russell 1997; Chattopadhyay 2006). In these frozen environments, bacteria are exposed to conditions that necessitate the partial removal of water from the intracellular space in order to maintain the structure and function of the cell. As water is essential for the function of various macromolecular structures, i.e. proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids, any significant deviation in the accessibility of water due to dehydration, desiccation or the alteration of its physical state, from the aqueous phase to an ice crystal, will pose a severe threat to the normal function and survival of organisms (Beall 1983). © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.