One of the main challenges of marine organisms that inhabit the extreme-cold Antarctic waters is to stay alive without freezing. An entirely Italian research team led by Prof. Cinzia Corinaldesi of the Polytechnic University of Marche, together with colleagues from the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Dr. Emanuela Buschi, first author of the pubblication, and the researchers Micheal Tangherlini and Sergio Stefanni), from Universities of Bologna, Ferrara and Salento, reveals, for the first time, that three endemic species of marine polychaete worms are able to resist extreme cold thanks to the production of antifreeze proteins produced by symbiotic bacteria living inside them. Researchers have discovered particular species of bacteria that are hosted, in great abundance, in the tissues of some Antarctic polychaetes. These bacteria produce antifreeze proteins, i.e. special proteins that lower the freezing point of internal liquids and make them more fluid, making "blood" circulation more efficient and better oxygenation of the animal, allowing it to adapt at low temperatures.
The study was published in Science Advances under the title “Resistance to freezing conditions of endemic Antarctic polychaetes is enhanced by cryoprotective proteins produced by their microbiome.”
1. Antarctic worms. Credits by Michael Tangherlini (SZN)
2. Sampling activity in Antarctica. Credits by Marco Lo Martire (UNIVPM)
3. Antarctic landscape (Ross Sea). Credits by Marco Lo Martire (UNIVPM)
