Tolerance, freezing

Storey, K.B. Storey, J.M. (1988). Freeze tolerance in animals. Physiological Reviews, 68, 27-84. 

Reaney, M.J.T. Gusta, L.V. (1987). Factors influencing the induction of freezing tolerance by abscisic acid in cell suspension cultures of Bromus inermis Leyss and Medicago sativa L. Plant Physiology, 83, 423-7. 

Fujikawa S, Takabe K. Formation of multiplex lamellae by equilibrium slow freezing of cortical parenchyma cells of mulberry and its possible relationship to freezing tolerance. Protoplasma 1996 190 189-203. 

Tucci, M., Carputo, D., Bile, G., Frusciante, L. (1996). Male fertility and freezing tolerance of hybrids involving Solanum tuberosum haploids and diploid Solanum species. Potato Research, 39, 345-353. 

Morita, Y. Nakamori, S, Takagi, H. L-proline accumulation and freeze tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are caused by a mutation in the PROl gene encoding y-glutamyl kinase. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 69, 212-219 (2003)... 

Hannah MA, Wiese D, Freund S, Fiehn O, Heyer AG, Hincha DK. 2006. Natural genetic variation of freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 142 98-112. 

The important role of sterol components in the acquisition of freezing tolerance has recently been demonstrated using an Arabidopsis mutant with altered steryl-ester metabolism. Compared with the wild-type the mutant has no visible phenotype at standard growth temperature but exhibits clear symptoms when exposed to low temperatures (Hugly et al.,... 

The co-identity of different proteins can be confirmed only by comparisons of amino acid sequences or by immunological cross-reactions. That cold-regulated polypeptides have a role in the acquisition of cold tolerance is supported by the general observation that the appearance of most proteins is temporally correlated with the onset of freezing tolerance. The polypeptides are detected as long as the plants are kept at low temperatures but decline when the temperature is raised as, for example, demonstrated by Guy Haskell (1987, 1988) for spinach. Similar associations of appearance and decline of polypeptides have been reported for alfalfa (Mohapatra et al., 1987a,b). 

The property of cold acclimation resulting in freezing tolerance has evolved in many temperate plants. The metabolic pathways of this complex process are mostly unknown. However, from recent work it is clear that gene activation is involved. By means of molecular biology some cold-regulated transcripts have been isolated and have become amenable to further analysis. The cDNA clones so far available probably correspond to only a small number of the transcripts which are affected by low temperature. One may therefore expect that the number of cDNA clones and genomic clones available for characterisation will increase in the near future. 

There are only a few studies on the correlation between the expression of specific transcripts and freezing tolerance (see earlier), but nucleotide probes for these genes may contribute to selection schemes in breeding programmes. 

Guy, C.L. Haskell, D. (1987). Induction of freezing tolerance in spinach is associated with the synthesis of cold acclimation induced proteins. Plant Physiology 84, 872-8. 

Heino, P., Sandman, G., LSng, V., Nordin, K. Palva, E.T. (1990). Abscisic acid deficiency prevents development of freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 79, 801-6. 

Mohapatra, S.S., Poole, R.J. Dhindsa, R.S. (1988). Abscisic acid regulated gene expression in relation to freezing tolerance in alfalfa. Plant Physiology 87, 468-73. 

Perras, M. Sarhan, F. (1989). Synthesis of freezing tolerance proteins in leaves, crown, and roots during cold acclimation of wheat. Plant Physiology 89, 577-85. 

The tubers start to become freeze tolerant (LD50 at -5°C) toward the end of October, prior to leaf senescence (Ishikawa and Yoshida, 1985). Tolerance increases to -11°C by mid-December. Increased low temperature tolerance did not appear to be due to changes in tuber moisture content the role of inulin depolymerization in increased cold tolerance has not been assessed. 

Freeze-tolerance is also noted in less extreme, cold temperate environments, in which certain species elect to become solid-state even when their neighbors mount successful freeze-avoidance strategies of the types just described for terrestrial insects like D. canadensis. In fact, even the latter species has been observed to rely on freeze-tolerance under extreme conditions. The adoption of freeze tolerance in winter is noted in a wide variety of animal taxa, including numerous arthropods and even a few lower vertebrates, the freeze-tolerant frogs and reptiles (see Storey, 1990, for review). Plants, too, may spend much of the winter in a solid-state condition (Griffith and Antikainen, 1996). 

To understand the nature of freeze-tolerance, it is critical to look carefully at (i) the nature of the solid-state water that forms, (ii) where this solid-state water can be generated without lethal effects, and (iii) how the formation of true ice, which is but one of water s potential solid states, is regulated to minimize damage from freezing. As we would predict from the earlier analysis of the types of damage caused by formation of ice in biological fluids, each of these three variables is critical for the development of a successful ability to withstand freezing. 

The requirements that must be met to gain the ability to tolerate freezing include the following (1) The formation of true ice is restricted to the extracellular spaces. (2) The formation of ice in the extracellular fluids is not accompanied by extreme dehydration of the cells. (3) Rates of ice crystal formation and the sizes of ice crystals that are generated in the extracellular fluids are held at nonlethal values. (4) Any solid-state water that forms within cells is vitrified water, not true ice. To meet these requirements, freeze-tolerant organisms employ a variety of mechanisms to control the sites, rates, and sizes of ice crystal formation. 

Freeze-tolerant insects and plants have been found to contain substantial concentrations of AFP s, a phenomenon that may appear paradoxical. However, THPs present in the extracellular fluids may contribute importantly to freeze-tolerance by inhibiting recrystallization, thus keeping the ice crystals that do form in the extracellular space small enough to prevent... 

Griffith, M., and M. Antikainen (1996). Extracellular ice formation in freezing-tolerant plants. Adv. Low-Temp. Biol. 3 107-139. 

Lee, R.E., J.J. McGrath, R.T. Morason, and R.M. Taddeo (1993b). Survival of intracellular freezing, lipid coalescence and osmotic fragility in fat body cells of the freeze-tolerant gall fly... 

Ring, J.A. (1982). Freezing-tolerant insects with low supercooling points. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 73 605-612. 

Storey, K.B. (1990). Life in a frozen state adaptive strategies for natural freeze tolerance in amphibians and reptiles. Am. J. Physiol. (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 27) 258 R559-R568. 

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