Psychrobacter arcticus Cold Shock Protein Expression in Escherichia coli Increases Cold Resistance

• Main Author: Sunderland, Daniel
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ Colby 2014
• Subjects: Biology; Antarc*; Antarctica; permafrost
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2014/program/122; https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/context/clas/article/1588/type/native/viewcontent/CLASposterDS_P.pptx

Psychrophilic (cold-loving) microorganisms live in some of the most inhospitable environments in the world. The newly-sequenced genome of the psychrophile Psychrobacter arcticus presents the opportunity to study the molecular mechanisms by which it is possible for this organism to thrive in extremely cold environments such as the permafrost of Antarctica. The cold presents challenges such as decreased membrane fluidity, slower reaction rates, and conformational changes in proteins and nucleic acids. Putative genes for cold-shock proteins (csps) were identified within the sequenced genome that could play an important role in facilitating the psychrophilic lifestyle. This study sought to analyze the function of the putative genes cspA, cspB, and cspCS by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. Growth of the resulting E. coli strains was monitored to determine if expression of these genes conferred better growth at cold temperatures. Resistance to cold was determined by comparing respective growth rates of the experimental cultures to controls.