Cryoprotection from lipoteichoic acid

Charles V. Rice; Amy Middaugh; Jason R. Wickham; Anthony Friedline; Kieth J. Thomas III; Karen Johnson; Malcolm Zachariah; Ravindranth Garimella

doi:10.1117/12.970517

15 October 2012 Cryoprotection from lipoteichoic acid

Charles V. Rice, Amy Middaugh, Jason R. Wickham, Anthony Friedline, Kieth J. Thomas III, Karen Johnson, Malcolm Zachariah, Ravindranth Garimella

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8521, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XV; 85210I (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.970517
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Numerous chemical additives lower the freezing point of water, but life at sub-zero temperatures is sustained by a limited number of biological cryoprotectants. Antifreeze proteins in fish, plants, and insects provide protection to a few degrees below freezing. Microbes have been found to survive at even lower temperatures, and with a few exceptions, antifreeze proteins are missing. Survival has been attributed to external factors, such as the high salt concentration of brine veins and adhesion to particulates or ice crystal defects. We have discovered an endogenous cryoprotectant in the cell wall of bacteria, lipoteichoic acid biopolymers. Adding 1% LTA to bacteria cultures immediately prior to freezing provides 50% survival rate, similar to the results obtained with 1% glycerol. In the absence of an additive, bacterial survival is negligible as measured with the resazurin cell viability assay. The mode of action for LTA cryoprotection is unknown. With a molecular weight of 3-5 kDa, it is unlikely to enter the cell cytoplasm. Our observations suggest that teichoic acids could provide a shell of liquid water around biofilms and planktonic bacteria, removing the need for brine veins to prevent bacterial freezing.

Citation Download Citation

Charles V. Rice, Amy Middaugh, Jason R. Wickham, Anthony Friedline, Kieth J. Thomas III, Karen Johnson, Malcolm Zachariah, and Ravindranth Garimella "Cryoprotection from lipoteichoic acid", Proc. SPIE 8521, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XV, 85210I (15 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.970517

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