Antarctic Yeasts: Analysis of Their Freeze-thaw Tolerance and Production of Antifreeze Proteins, Fatty Acids and Ergosterol

Overview

Journal BMC Microbiol

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2018 Jul 7

PMID 29976143

Citations 11

Authors

Pablo Villarreal

Mario Carrasco

Salvador Barahona

Jennifer Alcaino

Victor Cifuentes

Marcelo Baeza

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Microorganisms have evolved a number of mechanisms to thrive in cold environments, including the production of antifreeze proteins, high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and ergosterol. In this work, several yeast species isolated from Antarctica were analyzed with respect to their freeze-thaw tolerance and production of the three abovementioned compounds, which may also have economic importance.

Results: The freeze-thaw tolerance of yeasts was widely variable among species, and a clear correlation with the production of any of the abovementioned compounds was not observed. Antifreeze proteins that were partially purified from Goffeauzyma gastrica maintained their antifreeze activities after several freeze-thaw cycles. A relatively high volumetric production of ergosterol was observed in the yeasts Vishniacozyma victoriae, G. gastrica and Leucosporidium creatinivorum, i.e., 19, 19 and 16 mg l, respectively. In addition, a high percentage of linoleic acid with respect to total fatty acids was observed in V. victoriae (10%), Wickerhamomyces anomalus (12%) and G. gastrica (13%), and a high percentage of alpha linoleic acid was observed in L. creatinivorum (3.3%).

Conclusions: Given these results, the abovementioned yeasts are good candidates to be evaluated for use in the production of antifreeze proteins, fatty acids, and ergosterol at the industrial scale.

Citing Articles

Antifreeze proteins produced by Antarctic yeast from the genus Glaciozyma as cryoprotectants in food storage.

Majewska E, Twarda-Clapa A, Jedrzejczak-Krzepkowska M, Kaminska-Dworznicka A, Zaklos-Szyda M, Bialkowska A PLoS One. 2025; 20(3):e0318459.

PMID: 40048460 PMC: 11884722. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318459.

Five new epiphytic species of (Bulleribasidiaceae, Tremellales) from China.

Liu S, Cai D, Chai C, Hui F MycoKeys. 2025; 113:321-336.

PMID: 39980722 PMC: 11840432. DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.113.140598.

Nitrogen limitation-induced adaptive response and lipogenesis in the Antarctic yeast M94C9.

Rosas-Paz M, Zamora-Bello A, Torres-Ramirez N, Villarreal-Huerta D, Romero-Aguilar L, Pardo J Front Microbiol. 2024; 15:1416155.

PMID: 39161597 PMC: 11330776. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1416155.

Freezing and thawing in Antarctica: characterization of antifreeze protein (AFP) producing microorganisms isolated from King George Island, Antarctica.

Lopes J, Veiga V, Seminiuk B, Santos L, Luiz A, Fernandes C Braz J Microbiol. 2024; 55(2):1451-1463.

PMID: 38656427 PMC: 11153389. DOI: 10.1007/s42770-024-01345-7.

Biosynthesis of Cu-In-S Nanoparticles by a Yeast Isolated from Union Glacier, Antarctica: A Platform for Enhanced Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Arriaza-Echanes C, Campo-Giraldo J, Valenzuela-Ibaceta F, Ramos-Zuniga J, Perez-Donoso J Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024; 14(6).

PMID: 38535700 PMC: 10975457. DOI: 10.3390/nano14060552.

References

Bazinet R, Laye S . Polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites in brain function and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014; 15(12):771-85. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3820. View

Raymond J, Fritsen C, Shen K . An ice-binding protein from an Antarctic sea ice bacterium. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2007; 61(2):214-21. DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2007.00345.x. View

Griffith M, Ewart K . Antifreeze proteins and their potential use in frozen foods. Biotechnol Adv. 1995; 13(3):375-402. DOI: 10.1016/0734-9750(95)02001-j. View

Fazlin Hashim N, Bharudin I, Nguong D, Higa S, Bakar F, Nathan S . Characterization of Afp1, an antifreeze protein from the psychrophilic yeast Glaciozyma antarctica PI12. Extremophiles. 2012; 17(1):63-73. DOI: 10.1007/s00792-012-0494-4. View

Kim H, Shim H, Lee J, Kang Y, Hur Y . Ice-Binding Protein Derived from Glaciozyma Can Improve the Viability of Cryopreserved Mammalian Cells. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015; 25(12):1989-96. DOI: 10.4014/jmb.1507.07041. View

Venkateswarlu K, Lamb D, Kelly D, Manning N, Kelly S . The N-terminal membrane domain of yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 (CYP) oxidoreductase is not required for catalytic activity in sterol biosynthesis or in reconstitution of CYP activity. J Biol Chem. 1998; 273(8):4492-6. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.273.8.4492. View

Carrasco M, Alcaino J, Cifuentes V, Baeza M . Purification and characterization of a novel cold adapted fungal glucoamylase. Microb Cell Fact. 2017; 16(1):75. PMC: 5414198. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-017-0693-x. View

Anbu P, Gopinath S, Chaulagain B, Lakshmipriya T . Microbial Enzymes and Their Applications in Industries and Medicine 2016. Biomed Res Int. 2017; 2017:2195808. PMC: 5387804. DOI: 10.1155/2017/2195808. View

Lee H, Lee H, Kim H, Lee J, Ko Y, Kim S . Effects of antifreeze proteins on the vitrification of mouse oocytes: comparison of three different antifreeze proteins. Hum Reprod. 2015; 30(9):2110-9. DOI: 10.1093/humrep/dev170. View

10.

Kelly D, Kelly S . Rewiring yeast for drug synthesis. Nat Biotechnol. 2003; 21(2):133-4. DOI: 10.1038/nbt0203-133. View

11.

Carrasco M, Rozas J, Barahona S, Alcaino J, Cifuentes V, Baeza M . Diversity and extracellular enzymatic activities of yeasts isolated from King George Island, the sub-Antarctic region. BMC Microbiol. 2012; 12:251. PMC: 3499239. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-12-251. View

12.

Gilbert J, Hill P, Dodd C, Laybourn-Parry J . Demonstration of antifreeze protein activity in Antarctic lake bacteria. Microbiology (Reading). 2004; 150(Pt 1):171-180. DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.26610-0. View

13.

BLIGH E, Dyer W . A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Can J Biochem Physiol. 1959; 37(8):911-7. DOI: 10.1139/o59-099. View

14.

Ruenwai R, Neiss A, Laoteng K, Vongsangnak W, Dalfard A, Cheevadhanarak S . Heterologous production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae causes a global transcriptional response resulting in reduced proteasomal activity and increased oxidative stress. Biotechnol J. 2010; 6(3):343-56. DOI: 10.1002/biot.201000316. View

15.

Park J, Lee J, Gwak Y, Kim H, Jin E, Kim Y . Frozen assembly of gold nanoparticles for rapid analysis of antifreeze protein activity. Biosens Bioelectron. 2012; 41:752-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2012.09.052. View

16.

Bhuiyan M, Tucker D, Watson K . Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of fatty acid profiles of Antarctic and non-Antarctic yeasts. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2014; 106(2):381-9. DOI: 10.1007/s10482-014-0183-7. View

17.

He X, Guo X, Liu N, Zhang B . Ergosterol production from molasses by genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007; 75(1):55-60. DOI: 10.1007/s00253-006-0807-6. View

18.

Davies P, Baardsnes J, Kuiper M, Walker V . Structure and function of antifreeze proteins. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2002; 357(1423):927-35. PMC: 1692999. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1081. View

19.

Barahona S, Yuivar Y, Socias G, Alcaino J, Cifuentes V, Baeza M . Identification and characterization of yeasts isolated from sedimentary rocks of Union Glacier at the Antarctica. Extremophiles. 2016; 20(4):479-91. DOI: 10.1007/s00792-016-0838-6. View

20.

Barros M, Poppe S, Bondan E . Neuroprotective properties of the marine carotenoid astaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids, and perspectives for the natural combination of both in krill oil. Nutrients. 2014; 6(3):1293-317. PMC: 3967194. DOI: 10.3390/nu6031293. View