Abstract
The Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi is the best documented example of an animal surviving intracellular freezing and the only animal so far shown to survive such freezing throughout its tissues. However, a recent study found that after exposure to a freezing stress that produced intracellular freezing in a proportion of nematodes, the resulting survival levels could be explained if those nematodes that froze intracellularly had died. We have thus re-examined the survival of intracellular freezing in this nematode. The ability to survive a freezing exposure that is likely to produce intracellular freezing (freezing at −10 °C) declines with culture age. In cultures that are fed regularly, the ability to survive freezing at −10 °C increases, but in starved cultures freezing survival declines. Survival of intracellular freezing in fed cultures was confirmed using cryomicroscopy, staining of cells with vital dyes and by freeze substitution and transmission electron microscopy. We have thus confirmed that P. davidi can survive intracellular freezing and shown that this ability is dependent upon them being well fed. The effect of culture conditions on the nutrient status of the nematodes should thus be an important factor in the design of experiments.







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- cfu:
-
Colony forming units
- rpm:
-
Revolutions per minute
- T min :
-
Minimum temperature
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Karen Judge and Matthew Downes for technical assistance, the Otago Centre for Electron Microscopy for access to their facilities and Antarctica New Zealand for the support of our Antarctic studies. MRR would like to acknowledge the support of a Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctica New Zealand Scholarship and the Fanny Evans Postgraduate Scholarship for Women. Funding for this study was provided by the University of Otago (PBRF: PL.104033.01.S.FZ.75) and Antarctica New Zealand (event no. KO66).
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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All experiments complied with the current laws of New Zeland.
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Communicated by I.D. Hume.
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Raymond, M.R., Wharton, D.A. The ability of the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi to survive intracellular freezing is dependent upon nutritional status. J Comp Physiol B 183, 181–188 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-012-0697-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-012-0697-0