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Mini Review Volume 6 Issue 1
Freeze tolerance in wood frogs
Pranab Roy, Prittam Goswami
Received: January 01, 1971 | Published: January 16, 2019
Citation: Roy P, Goswami P. Freeze tolerance in wood frogs. J Investig Genomics. 2019;6(1):1-4. DOI: 10.15406/jig.2019.06.00078
Abstract
The wood frogs are a special variety of frogs native to Alaska, Canada and Northern USA. Their ability to tolerate freezing has been regarded as one of the most astonishing natural wonders of the world. These frogs can survive partial freezing of their body. During winter about 60% of their body fluid freezes up, they stop breathing and their heart stops beating. Organ systems become inactive. However, the body remains alive at cellular level. Due to unavailability of oxygen the cells carry out anaerobic respiration to generate energy. Prior to freezing, the frog’s liver produces a large amount of glucose molecules which acts as a cryoprotectant and protects the vital organs of the body from freezing. In addition to glucose accumulation many other factors are involved in providing freeze tolerance. With the onset of spring the frozen frogs start thawing, they regain consciousness and recover from the hibernating state within 24 hours of thawing. Unravelling the underlying mechanism behind their freeze tolerance can help to develop a better strategy for cryopreservation of organs for a longer duration in the future.
Keywords: cryoprotectant, anaerobic respiration, thawing, hibernaculum and glycogenolysis, Ca-ATPase, blood, wood frogs, freezing injury, NES signal, proteins
©2019 Roy, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.