scholarly journals Drivers of plasticity in freeze tolerance in the intertidal mussel Mytilus trossulus

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (24) ◽  
pp. jeb233478
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Kennedy ◽  
Christopher D. G. Harley ◽  
Katie E. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Cellular Damage ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Mytilus Trossulus ◽  
Salinity Acclimation ◽  
Shore Level ◽  
Extreme Stress ◽  
Intertidal Invertebrates ◽  
Freeze Tolerant

ABSTRACTFreezing is an extreme stress to living cells, and so freeze-tolerant animals often accumulate protective molecules (termed cryoprotectants) to prevent the cellular damage caused by freezing. The bay mussel, Mytilus trossulus, is an ecologically important intertidal invertebrate that can survive freezing. Although much is known about the biochemical correlates of freeze tolerance in insects and vertebrates, the cryoprotectants that are used by intertidal invertebrates are not well characterized. Previous work has proposed two possible groups of low-molecular weight cryoprotectants in intertidal invertebrates: osmolytes and anaerobic byproducts. In our study, we examined which group of candidate cryoprotectants correlate with plasticity in freeze tolerance in mussels using 1H NMR metabolomics. We found that the freeze tolerance of M. trossulus varies on a seasonal basis, along an intertidal shore-level gradient, and with changing salinity. Acclimation to increased salinity (30 ppt compared with 15 ppt) increased freeze tolerance, and mussels were significantly more freeze tolerant during the winter. Mussel freeze tolerance also increased with increasing shore level. There was limited evidence that anaerobic byproduct accumulation was associated with increased freeze tolerance. However, osmolyte accumulation was correlated with increased freeze tolerance after high salinity acclimation and in the winter. The concentration of most low molecular weight metabolites did not vary with shore level, indicating that another mechanism is likely responsible for this pattern of variation in freeze tolerance. By identifying osmolytes as a group of molecules that assist in freezing tolerance, we have expanded the known biochemical repertoire of the mechanisms of freeze tolerance.

scholarly journals Evidence for non-colligative function of small cryoprotectants in a freeze-tolerant insect

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1899) ◽  
pp. 20190050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jantina Toxopeus ◽  
Vladimír Koštál ◽  
Brent J. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Fat Body ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Ice Formation ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Manipulative Experiments ◽  
Gryllus Veletis ◽  
Freeze Tolerant

Freeze tolerance, the ability to survive internal ice formation, facilitates survival of some insects in cold habitats. Low-molecular-weight cryoprotectants such as sugars, polyols and amino acids are hypothesized to facilitate freeze tolerance, but their in vivo function is poorly understood. Here, we use a combination of metabolomics and manipulative experiments in vivo and ex vivo to examine the function of multiple cryoprotectants in the spring field cricket Gryllus veletis . Cold-acclimated G. veletis are freeze-tolerant and accumulate myo -inositol, proline and trehalose in their haemolymph and fat body. Injecting freeze-tolerant crickets with proline and trehalose increases survival of freezing to lower temperatures or for longer times. Similarly, exogenous myo -inositol and trehalose increase ex vivo freezing survival of fat body cells from freeze-tolerant crickets. No cryoprotectant (alone or in combination) is sufficient to confer freeze tolerance on non-acclimated, freeze-intolerant G. veletis . Given that each cryoprotectant differentially impacts survival in the frozen state, we conclude that small cryoprotectants are not interchangeable and likely function non-colligatively in insect freeze tolerance. Our study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the importance of non-colligative cryoprotectant function for insect freeze tolerance both in vivo and ex vivo , with implications for choosing new molecules for cryopreservation.

A high-performance oil-free backing pump for electron microscopes

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-111
Author(s):  
G.K.W. Balkau ◽  
E. Bez ◽  
J.L. Farrant
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Carbonaceous Material ◽  
Contamination Rate ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Principal Source ◽  
Rotary Pumps ◽  
Electron Microscopes

The earliest account of the contamination of electron microscope specimens by the deposition of carbonaceous material during electron irradiation was published in 1947 by Watson who was then working in Canada. It was soon established that this carbonaceous material is formed from organic vapours, and it is now recognized that the principal source is the oil-sealed rotary pumps which provide the backing vacuum. It has been shown that the organic vapours consist of low molecular weight fragments of oil molecules which have been degraded at hot spots produced by friction between the vanes and the surfaces on which they slide. As satisfactory oil-free pumps are unavailable, it is standard electron microscope practice to reduce the partial pressure of organic vapours in the microscope in the vicinity of the specimen by using liquid-nitrogen cooled anti-contamination devices. Traps of this type are sufficient to reduce the contamination rate to about 0.1 Å per min, which is tolerable for many investigations.

Low-molecular-weight heparin in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn R Hermes De Santis ◽  
Betsy S Laumeister ◽  
Vidhu Bansal ◽  
Vandana Kataria ◽  
Preeti Loomba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Low Molecular Weight Heparin ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Prevention And Treatment

Venous thromboembolism in a general hospital. An update with low molecular weight heparin prophylaxis

VASA ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
Schulz ◽  
Kesselring ◽  
Seeberger ◽  
Andresen
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Venous Thromboembolism ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Vte Prophylaxis ◽  
Vein Thrombosis ◽  
Patients At Risk ◽  
Hospital Stays ◽  
Event Rates

Background: Patients admitted to hospital for surgery or acute medical illnesses have a high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Today’s widespread use of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) for VTE prophylaxis is supposed to have reduced VTE rates substantially. However, data concerning the overall effectiveness of LMWH prophylaxis is sparse. Patients and methods: We prospectively studied all patients with symptomatic and objectively confirmed VTE seen in our hospital over a three year period. Event rates in different wards were analysed and compared. VTE prophylaxis with Enoxaparin was given to all patients at risk during their hospital stay. Results: A total of 50 464 inpatients were treated during the study period. 461 examinations were carried out for symptoms suggestive of VTE and yielded 89 positive results in 85 patients. Seventy eight patients were found to have deep vein thrombosis, 7 had pulmonary embolism, and 4 had both deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The overall in hospital VTE event rate was 0.17%. The rate decreased during the study period from 0.22 in year one to 0,16 in year two and 0.13 % in year three. It ranged highest in neurologic and trauma patients (0.32%) and lowest (0.08%) in gynecology-obstetrics. Conclusions: With a simple and strictly applied regimen of prophylaxis with LMWH the overall rate of symptomatic VTE was very low in our hospitalized patients. Beside LMWH prophylaxis, shortening hospital stays and substantial improvements in surgical and anasthesia techniques achieved during the last decades probably play an essential role in decreasing VTE rates.

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