A brief review of applications of antifreeze proteins in cryopreservation and metabolic genetic engineering

Aung Htay Naing, Chang Kil Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) confer the ability to survive at subzero temperatures and are found in many different organisms, including fish, plants, and insects. They prevent the formation of ice crystals by non-colligative adsorption to the ice surface and are essential for the survival of organisms in cold environments. These proteins are also widely used for cryopreservation, food technology, and metabolic genetic engineering over a range of sources and recipient cell types. This review summarizes successful applications of AFPs in the cryopreservation of animals, insects, and plants, and discusses challenges encountered in cryopreservation. Applications in metabolic genetic engineering are also described, specifically with the overexpression of AFP genes derived from different organisms to provide freeze protection to sensitive crops seasonally exposed to subzero temperatures. This review will provide information about potential applications of AFPs in the cryopreservation of animals and plants as well as in plant metabolic genetic engineering in hopes of furthering the development of cold-tolerant organisms.

Original languageEnglish
Article number329
Journal3 Biotech
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2019

Keywords

  • Antifreeze proteins
  • Cold-tolerant organisms
  • Cryopreservation
  • Ice crystals
  • Metabolic genetic engineering

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