The Glaciozyma antarctica genome reveals an array of systems that provide sustained responses towards temperature variations in a persistently cold habitat

• Published in: PloS one 2018-01, Vol.13 (1), p.e0189947-e0189947
• Main Authors: Firdaus-Raih, Mohd, Hashim, Noor Haza Fazlin, Bharudin, Izwan, Abu Bakar, Mohd Faizal, Huang, Kie Kyon, Alias, Halimah, Lee, Bernard K B, Mat Isa, Mohd Noor, Mat-Sharani, Shuhaila, Sulaiman, Suhaila, Tay, Lih Jinq, Zolkefli, Radziah, Muhammad Noor, Yusuf, Law, Douglas Sie Nguong, Abdul Rahman, Siti Hamidah, Md-Illias, Rosli, Abu Bakar, Farah Diba, Najimudin, Nazalan, Abdul Murad, Abdul Munir, Mahadi, Nor Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Annotations; Antarctic zone; Biochemistry; Biology and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Chanos chanos; Cold; Ctenopharyngodon idella; Delia antiqua; Encyclopedias; Engineering; Exploration; Fatty acids; Gene expression; Gene sequencing; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Ice environments; Ice formation; Low temperature; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Molecular biology; Natural resources; Nucleotide sequence; Physiological aspects; Proteins; R&D; Research & development; Research and analysis methods; Survival; Temperature variations; Work capacity; Yeast; Yeasts; Yeasts (Fungi)
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189947

Extremely low temperatures present various challenges to life that include ice formation and effects on metabolic capacity. Psyhcrophilic microorganisms typically have an array of mechanisms to enable survival in cold temperatures. In this study, we sequenced and analysed the genome of a psychrophilic yeast isolated in the Antarctic region, Glaciozyma antarctica. The genome annotation identified 7857 protein coding sequences. From the genome sequence analysis we were able to identify genes that encoded for proteins known to be associated with cold survival, in addition to annotating genes that are unique to G. antarctica. For genes that are known to be involved in cold adaptation such as anti-freeze proteins (AFPs), our gene expression analysis revealed that they were differentially transcribed over time and in response to different temperatures. This indicated the presence of an array of adaptation systems that can respond to a changing but persistent cold environment. We were also able to validate the activity of all the AFPs annotated where the recombinant AFPs demonstrated anti-freeze capacity. This work is an important foundation for further collective exploration into psychrophilic microbiology where among other potential, the genes unique to this species may represent a pool of novel mechanisms for cold survival.