Project information
LAYBOURN-PARRY, Prof. Johanna (Jo)
University of Tasmania
Davis, Larsemann Hills ASMA, Vestfold Hills
Project aim
Previous work on anti-freeze proteins (AFPs) in bacteria isolated from saline lakes in the Vestfold Hills, has shown that only around 10% of isolates possessed AFP activity. This suggests that the majority of bacteria may be using other mechanisms to avoid freezing or possibly are non-functional at sub-zero temperatures. We propose building on our previous work to ascertain if AFP occurrence is characteristic of particular taxonomic groups, or whether its evolution is random among different species.