Antifreeze protein (AFP) is an ice-binding protein produced by organisms living in extremely cold temperatures and encountering freezing environments.
Basari TLP
antifreeze protein is a good contribution to the list of such agents already being used for this purpose.
The team's study presents the first direct measurements of the superheating of ice crystals in
antifreeze protein solutions, according to Celik.
Abbreviations: ABA, abscisic acid; AFR
antifreeze protein; AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphisms; cM, centimorgan; EST, expressed sequence tag; kb, kilobase; MAS, marker-assisted selection; ORE open reading frame; PAP, pokeweed antiviral proteins; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PSII, photosystem II; RAPD, random amplified polymorphic DNA; RFLP, restriction fragment length polymorphisms; RMV, Ryegrass mosaic virus; QTL, quantitative trait loci; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism; SSH, suppression subtractive hybridization; SSR, simple sequence repeat; STS, sequence-tagged sites.
Low temperature extrusion means costly equipment and the crystals tend to grow, conventional stabilizers have only a slight effect and
antifreeze protein additives tend to harden the product itself.
Canadian scientists from the Department of Biochemistry at Queens University, in Kingston, Ontario, discovered an
antifreeze protein in snow fleas that may increase the shelf life of human organs for transplantation.
Called AFP, or
antifreeze protein, the molecule directs ice-crystal formation.
Scientists at Kansai University said Tuesday they have succeeded in efficiently extracting
antifreeze protein from pond smelts, allowing for the substance to be used in a wide range of areas such as food and medicine.
The company behind the research, A/F Protein, a Seabright branch, says when its
antifreeze protein was introduced into Atlantic salmon, "it resulted in the production of salmon that grow dramatically faster than standard salmon".
Researchers believe that plant varieties producing the
antifreeze protein will better withstand the rigors of the freeze/thaw cycle, resulting in products with superior eating qualities.
This
antifreeze protein and others like it circulate in the blood of many Arctic and Antarctic fish, binding to the surface of ice crystals to prevent them from growing too large.
Scientists at the University of California (Department of Food Science and Technology, One Shield Ave., Davis, CA 95616) are involved in
antifreeze protein research.
