Abstract
BackgroundMicroorganisms 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.ResultsThe 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− 1, 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%).ConclusionsGiven 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.
Highlights
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
Tolerance to freeze-thaw cycles Yeast cultures were subjected to FTCs as described in the Materials and Methods, the freezing time varied for some yeast species that showed no loss of survival between successive FTCs
In this work, yeast species isolated from Antarctica were analyzed for the production of ice-binding proteins, unsaturated fatty acids and ergosterol, compounds associated with tolerance to cold and freezing conditions and that are economically attractive
Summary
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. There is a well-established and increasing global market for biomolecules used in industrial, medical, and biotechnological fields, such as antifreeze compounds, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and ergosterol. Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and ice-binding proteins (IBPs) have great biotechnological potential in the cryopreservation of mammalian and plant cells [1], preparation of frozen food and the cryopreservation of transplant organs [2, 3]. AFPs were first described almost four decades ago in Antarctic marine fishes [4] and have subsequently been discovered in a broad range of organisms, including snow mold fungi [5], sea ice diatoms [6], snow algae [7], bacteria [8,9,10,11] and PUFAs are amphipathic molecules that have essential biological functions, such as the maintenance of cell membrane fluidity and permeability and enzyme activity, among others functions [19, 20]. Efforts have been made to improve the production of ergosterol in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for large-scale production [33, 34]
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