Does fish from the Disko Bay area of Greenland possess antifreeze proteins during the summer?

• Published in: Polar biology Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 365 - 370
• Main Authors: ENEVOLDSEN, Line Tannebaek, HEINER, Iben, DEVRIES, Arthur L, STEFFENSEN, John Fleng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer 01.06.2003; Berlin Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Fish; Freezing; Freezing point; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gadus morhua; Marine; Marine biology; Proteins; Raja radiata; Seawater; Stichaeus punctatus; Thermoregulation. Hibernation. Estivation. Ecophysiology and environmental effects; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; North Atlantic; North America; Atlantic Ocean; Greenland; America; PN, Arctic; AN, Greenland; Marine environment; Vertebrata; Seasonal variation; Pisces; Interspecific comparison; Summer; Bay; Chondrichthyes; Antifreeze protein; Biological activity; Body composition; Gadus morhua
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-003-0489-9

The blood of 21 teleosts and 1 Elasmobranch was analysed for antifreeze-protein activity by determining the thermal hysteresis. The fish were caught in the summertime at different locations in West Greenland (Disko Bay area). The difference between the melting and hysteresis freezing point (thermal hysteresis) is a numerical indication of the presence of antifreeze-protein activity.No thermal hysteresis was detected in the blood of the elasmobranch, Raja radiata (thorny skate) and, as expected, its blood was isosmotic to seawater. Of the 21 teleost species examined, 11 were found to have a thermal hysteresis greater than 0.1 degree C, an indication of the presence of substantial amounts of antifreeze. The remaining 10 species had a hysteresis less than 0.1 degree C, and thus their summertime possession of antifreeze protein was concluded to be very low or absent. No hysteresis was detected in Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod), but there was a slight faceting of the seed crystal, indicative of a low, possibly physiologically unimportant, level of antifreeze protein.This study is the first time antifreeze-protein activity has been detected in the species Stichaeus punctatus (Arctic shanny).