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Project Progress

It is crucial to examine the physiological processes of psychrophiles at temperatures below 4°C to facilitate extrapolation of laboratory results to in situ activity. Using two dimensional electrophoresis, we examined patterns of protein abundance during growth at 16, 4, and -4°C of the permafrost isolate Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 and report the first identification of cold inducible proteins (CIPs) present during growth at subzero temperatures. Growth temperature substantially reprogrammed the proteome (Fig.1); the relative abundance of 303 of the 618 protein spots detected (~31% of the proteins at each growth temperature) varied significantly with temperature. Five CIPs were produced specifically at -4°C; their identities (AtpF, EF-Ts, TolC, Pcryo_1988, and FecA) suggested specific stress on energy production, protein synthesis, and transport during growth at subzero temperatures. The need for continual relief of low-temperature stress on these cellular processes was confirmed via identification of 22 additional CIPs whose abundance increased during growth at -4°C (relative to higher temperatures). Our data suggested that iron may be limiting during growth at subzero temperatures and that a cold-adapted allele was employed at -4°C for transport of iron. In summary, these data suggest that low-temperature stresses continue to intensify as growth temperatures decrease to -4°C.

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