CryoLetters

CryoLetters is a bimonthly, international journal for low temperature science and technology

CryoLetters 21, 141-148 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

DO CONVENTIONAL CASA-PARAMETERS REFLECT RECOVERY OF KINEMATICS AFTER FREEZING?: “CASA PARADOX” IN THE ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY OF SPERMATOZOA AFTER CRYOPRESERVATION

Igor I. KATKOV* and Ayub G-M.I. LULAT

Cells for Life Ltd., Markham, Ontario, Canada
*Correspondence at present address: Universal Preservation Technologies, Inc., 11045 Roselle Str., Suite C, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
FAX: +858-625-3889; e-mail: igork@uptsd.com

Summary

 Conventional kinematic parameters (KPs) are averages of values obtained from analysing the entire motile fraction of cells in a sample. Occasionally, in spite of overall deterioration of semen samples after cryopreservation and other ‘damaging’ manipulations, the average relative (derived) KPs such as linearity (LIN), dance (DNC), dance mean (DNM) etc., may show apparently elevated values. Similarly, the absolute (actual) KPs such as straight line velocity (VSL), curvilinear velocity (VCL), average velocity path (VAP), average lateral head displacement (ALH), beat-cross frequency (BCF), etc., may also be higher after damaging treatments depending on the tolerance of various sub-populations in a single sample. The conditions for this CASA-paradox are discussed. Simple modifications of actual CASA-parameters are proposed to correct the pseudo-enhancement of kinematics characteristics in processed semen samples.

Keywords: sperm, semen, CASA, kinematics, damage, recovery, sub-populations.

CryoLetters 21, 149-156 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF OVERWINTERING IN THE MATURE LARVA OF THE PINE NEEDLE GALL MIDGE, THECODIPLOSIS JAPONENSIS (DIPTERA: CECIDOMYIIDAE) IN KOREA

Yiping Li¹, He Gong¹, Ho-Yong Park²

¹ State Key Lab. of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica. Beijing 100080, China
² Insect Resources Laboratory, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. P. O. Box 115, Yusong, Taejon 305-600, Korea

SUMMARY

The pine needle gall midge, Thecodiplosis japonensis, overwinters in the soil as a third instar mature larva. The metabolic and physiological compensations and adjustments during its overwintering and acclimation were studied. Field-sampled larvae in 1997/98 winter showed a significant increase in whole-body trehalose by January (5.71  0.09 vs. 9.41 0.42 mg/g wet weight) along with a more significant decrease in whole-body glycogen (16.25  0.18 vs. 5.65 0.45 mg/g wet weight). Afterwards, there was a partial reconversion of trehalose to glycogen. Moreover, trace amounts of glycerol and steady content of glucose as potential cryoprotectants were found during the overwintering period. Temperature acclimation of field-sampled larvae affects interconversion between trehalose and glycogen. Trehalose accumulation does not affect the larval supercooling capacity. The mean supercooling point of the larvae remained nearly constant at about -20C over the winter and was unchanged after temperature acclimation. Low temperature survival experiment suggested that the larvae adopt a freeze-avoiding strategy for overwintering.

Keywords: Thecodiplosis japonensis, trehalose, glycogen, supercooling point, low temperature survival, overwintering

CryoLetters 21,157-162 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

Effect of glycine and leucine on the recovery of frozen-thawed Lavandula vera cells

A. Kuriyama, K. Watanabe and M. Yamana

Summary

 Ammonium ion is known to inhibit the recovery of frozen–thawed Lavendula vera cells from freezing injury. In this study, we examined the effect of glycine and leucine on the recovery of frozen-thawed L. vera cells. Both amino acids show a more deleterious effect on the recovery of freeze-injured cells than ammonium ion according to the TTC assay of the post-thaw cultured cells. However, the deleterious effect differed in quality between glycine and leucine. Glycine not only inhibited the recovery of frozen-thawed cells but also promoted the lethal process of freezing injury. Although leucine did not promote the lethal process of freezing-injury, it did inhibit the recovery of freezing injury.

Keywords: Amino acids, cryopreservation, glycine, freezing-injury, Lavandula vera, leucine.

CryoLetters 21, 163-170 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

The effect of temperature-dependent thermal conductivity in heat transfer simulations of frozen biomaterials

Y. Rabin

Summary

 The thermal conductivity value of pure water ice is inversely proportional to the temperature and decreases about 5-fold as the temperature increases from the liquid nitrogen boiling temperature (77K) to the freezing point of pure water. The temperature dependency of the thermal conductivity is typically overlooked in bioheat transfer simulations. A closed-form solution of the one-dimensional temperature distribution in frozen water and blood is presented in this study, based on a new thermal conductivity model. Results indicate that temperatures are overestimated up to 38K, and heat fluxes through the frozen region boundaries are underestimated by a factor of 2, when the temperature dependency of the thermal conductivity is neglected.

Keywords: Thermal conductivity, temperature dependency, cryogenic temperatures, frozen biomaterial, thermal analysis.

CryoLetters 21, 171-178 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

Chilling sensitivity in zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio) oocytes is related to lipid phase transition

M. Pearl and A. Arav

Summary

 Oocytes of zebrafish were used to study chilling sensitivity and membrane lipid phase transitions in tropical fish. The oocytes were divided into two groups: small (without yolk, <0.1mm) and large (with yolk, >0.1mm). After exposure of the oocytes to different temperatures (25, 22, 19, 16, 12, 8, 0, -8+0.5^oC) for 15 minutes, the integrity of their membranes was determined by carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA) staining. At 16 and 12^oC, damage was maximum (membrane integrity decreased by 50%) for small and large sizes, respectively. Lipid phase transition (LPT), which was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy, indicated phase transitions at the same temperatures at which damage was maximal (between 22and 12^oC).In another series of experiments, the chilling sensitivity of oocytes taken from zebrafish which had been held at 16^oC for different periods of time (0, 15, 30, 60 minutes) was determined as described above. In small oocytes membrane integrity decreased after 15 minutes, and in large oocytes integrity decreased after 30 minutes. Chilling sensitivity was also measured in oocytes from zebrafish that had been held at 16^oC for 30 minutes and then rewarmed to 28^oC for 2 hours. Despite this recovery period, the integrity of the oocytes remained low. We suggest that chilling sensitivity in zebrafish oocytes is related to lipid phase transition of their membranes and starts at 10^oC below the physiological temperature.

Keywords: Membrane, cold shock, chilling injury, CFDA, FTIR, lipid phase transition.

CryoLetters 21,179-186 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

Does membrane lipid profile explain chilling sensitivity and membrane lipid phase transition of spermatozoa and oocytes?

A.Arav, M. Pearl and Y. Zeron

Summary

 Ram, fowl and bee spermatozoa, and oocytes of cows and zebrafish were used to study lipid membrane profiles, chilling sensitivity and lipid-phase transitions. The integrity of the membranes was determined by carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA) staining following exposure for 15 minutes to low temperatures. Ram and fowl spermatozoa showed different degrees of loss of membrane integrity. Surprisingly, bee spermatozoa did not show any sensitivity to chilling, and their membranes remained intact down to 0^oC. In bovine oocytes (at the GV stage) chilling injury was very severe at 16^oC (membrane integrity decreased by 50%).

 Lipid phase transition (LPT) and membrane fluidity, which were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy, and fluorescence polarisation, showed phase transitions at the same temperatures as caused damage (between 30 and 12^oC). The membrane lipid profiles showed high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in cold-sensitive ram spermatozoa and zebrafish oocytes, but the ratio between PUFA and saturated fatty acids was highest in cold-resistant bee spermatozoa and lowest in cold-sensitive bovine oocytes. These results suggest a close relationship among cold susceptibility, lipid phase transition and lipids profile in animal gametes.

Keywords: Chilling injury, membranes, gametes, cryopreservation, spermatozoa, oocytes.

CryoLetters 21,187-200 (2000)
© CryoLetters, c/o Royal Veterinary College, London NW1 0TU

TEMP2000 – Abstracts of Symposium on Insect and Plant Cold Tolerance, Victoria, BC, Canada, 28 May – 2 June 2000    

This Symposium has taken place almost every three years since its inception in Oslo, Norway in 1982. Over the years it has broadened its scope to include other taxa such as plants, other invertebrates such as nematodes, annelids, spiders, etc., and even lower vertebrates such as frogs, turtles and snakes. This seventh symposium is no exception, and it included sessions on Polar and Alpine Adaptations in Invertebrates, Adaptations to Cold in Plants and Vertebrates, Molecular and Biochemical Aspects of Cold Tolerance, Applied Aspects of Cold Tolerance, some Stress Physiology and Other Topics.  It also had a Poster Session.

Titles and authors

Cold hardiness in Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera:Bombycidae): The backbone of the raw silk industry
O.A. Akinkunmi, Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Respiration, state of mitochondria, and gene expression patterns in the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis) during diapause and cold hardiness
Sarah Barber, Biology Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Drought acclimation confers sub-zero tolerance to a soil organism with high cuticular permeability
Mark Bayley and Martin Holmstrup, National Environmental Research Institute, Vejlsøvej 25, P.O. Box 314, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark

Seasonal metabolic depression and mitochondrial degradation in Arctic woollybear caterpillars, Gynaephora groenlandica
Valerie A. Bennett, Olga Kukal*, and Richard E. Lee, Jr., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH  45056 USA.
*Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3N5 Canada and Atlantic Low Temperature Systems Ltd., Halifax, NS B2Y 4L3 Canada

Differential behavior of arctic woollybear caterpillars (Gynaephora groenlandica) with respect to thermal characteristics of several tundra microhabitats in the High Arctic oasis at Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island (82°N, 71°W)
Valerie A. Bennett, Olga Kukal*+, Richard E. Lee, Jr., and Thomas F. Allen*, Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH USA 45056.
*Atlantic Low Temperature Systems Ltd., Halifax, NS  Canada B2Y 4L3.
+Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC Canada V8W 3N5.

Modelling aphid populations at low temperatures
Andrew G. Birt*, J.S. Bale* and Richard Harrington**,
*University of Birmingham, England.
**IACR - Rothamsted, Hertfordshire, UK

Activity and dormancy in relation to body water and freezing in a winter active springtail
William Block* and Juerg Zettel**,
*British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.
**Zoologisches Institut, Universitaet Bern, Switzerland

Survival of freezing by free-living Antarctic soil nematodes
Peter Convey and M. Roger Worland, British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK

Refining the risk of freezing mortality for Antarctic terrestrial microarthropods
Peter Convey and M. Roger Worland, British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK

Insect Cold Hardiness in Northern Canada
H.V. Danks, Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Upregulation and downregulation of specific genes associated with diapause and cold hardiness
David L. Denlinger and Joseph P. Rinehart, Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA

Freezing tolerance of coastal and interior populations of Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) planted in a common garden.
J.R. Deslippe and B.J. Hawkins, Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020 STN CSC Victoria, B.C. Canada, V8W 3N5

Impacts of root frost damage in the nursery on post-planting performance of containerized white spruce, black spruce and jack pine seedlings
D. Dumais*, C. Coursolle*, F.J. Bigras**, and H.A. Margolis*.
*Centre de recherche en biologie forestière, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec G1K 7P4.
**Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, P.O. Box 3800, Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1V 4C7

Antifreeze proteins in terrestrial arthropods from interior Alaska
John G. Duman, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN, USA

Structure and function of antifreeze proteins in overwintering freeze avoiding larvae of the beetle, Dendroides canadensis
John G. Duman, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN, USA

Cold-hardiness in eggs of western and northern corn rootworms, Diabrotica spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
M. Ellsbury* and R.E. Lee**.
*USDA,ARS, Northern Grain Insects Research Laboratory, Brookings, SD 57006, USA.
**Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA

Use of differential display RT-PCR to identify genes involved in the induction of diapause in the horn fly, Haematobia irritans
Felix D. Guerrero,* Tim J. Lysyk** and Lisa Kalischuk-Tymensen**.
*USDA-ARS US Livestock Insects Laboratory, Kerrville, Texas.
**Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

Do life history traits of a water strider, Aquarius paludum, change in accordance with global warming?
Tetsuo Harada and Taisuke Sasaki, Laboratory of Environmental Physiology, Faculty of Education, Kochi University, Kochi 780-8520, Japan

Cold storage of hover fly larvae as potential biological control agents
C.L. Harris*, J.S. Bale* and K.F. Walters**.
*University of Birmingham, UK.
**MAFF Central Science Laboratory, York, UK

Assessment methodologies for overwintering and establishment potential of exotic arthropods in the UK, with reference to Macrolophus caliginosus Wagner (Heteroptera: Miridae)
A.J. Hart*, A.G. Tullett*, J.S. Bale* and K.F. Walters**.
*University of Birmingham, UK.
**MAFF Central Science Laboratory, York, UK

Hygropreference of polar terrestrial arthropods: The role of moisture gradients in microhabitat selection and habitat patch isolation
Scott A.L. Hayward*, M.R. Worland**, J.S. Bale* and P. Convey**.
*School of Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
**British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK

Polyol synthesis:  A means of surviving both hot and cold in the Homoptera
Donald L. Hendrix, USDA-ARS-WCRL, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Interactions between climatic stress tolerance of soil invertebrates and toxic compounds in the environment
Martin Holmstrup, Mark Bayley, Heidi Sjursen, Rikke Højer, Steen Bossen and Kirstine Friis, National Environment Research Institute, Silkeborg, Denmark

Expression of insect, Dendroides canadensis, antifreeze protein in a plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, enhances freezing survival and depresses the freezing temperature
Tao Huang*, Michael Wisniewski**, Daniel G. Zarka***, Michael F. Thomashow***, and John G. Duman*.
*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN, USA.
**USDA-ARS.
***Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, MI, USA

Interspecific and geographic variation of freeze tolerance in the gray treefrogs, Hyla chrysoscelis and H. versicolor
Jason T. Irwin, and Richard E. Lee, Jr., Department of Zoology, Miami Univeristy, Oxford, OH, USA

Diapause development in frozen larvae of the goldenrod gall fly, Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Jason T. Irwin, Valerie A. Bennett, Richard E. Lee, Jr., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

Insects in the cold (and not-so-cold)
Richard E. Lee, Jr., Jonathan D. Kelty, Jason T. Irwin and Valerie A. Bennett, Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 USA

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Multivariate approach to classification of cold hardiness strategies
Olrich Nedved* and Vladimir Kostal**.
*Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia and Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences.
**Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

Surviving cold winter temperatures: An important aspect of the suitability of foodplants and habitats to insects in variable climates
Seppo Neuvonen, Kevo Subarctic Research Institute, University of Turku,  FIN-20014 Turku, FINLAND

Use of transgenic viruses to impair cold hardiness in insect pests
Lisa G. Neven and Holly J. Ferguson, USDA-ARS, Wapato, WA, USA

Cryoprotective thermal hysteresis and osmotin-like proteins from the bittersweet nightshade, Solanum dulcamara
S. Samuel Newton and John G. Duman, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN, USA

Winter ecology of the New Zealand alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata
Brent J. Sinclair, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Effect of preacclimation to desiccating conditions on the drought tolerance of a soil dwelling collembolan
Heidi Sjursen, Mark Bayley and Martin Holmstrup, National Environmental Research Institute, Silkeborg, Denmark

The history of cold hardiness in terrestrial arthropods
Lauritz Sømme, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Differential action of field-collected and laboratory-cultured prey animals on the supercooling capacity of the house spider
Kazuhiro Tanaka, Miyagi Gakuin Women’s College, Sendai Miyagi, Japan

Methodologies for assessing the overwintering potential of non-native arthropods, with special reference to Delphastus catalinae Gordon (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
A.G. Tullett, A.J., Hart and J.S. Bale, University of Birmingham, UK

Photoperiodic and thermal regulation of development and cold hardiness in larvae of the clover leaf weevil, Hypera punctata
Masahiko Watanabe, Department of Insect Physiology and Behavior, National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science, Ohwashi 1-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan

Cold hardiness in two helminth parasites of the freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica
Douglas C. Woodhams* and Jon P. Costanzo**, Jonathan D. Kelty**, Richard E. Lee, Jr.**.
*Department of Zoology, Michigan State Universty, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
**Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA

Rapid cold hardening: A gut feeling
M R Worland*, P Convey* and Alena Lukesova**,
*British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.
** Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

Abstracts

For Abstracts published from meetings, such as SLTB meetings, go to the relevant Volume Year of the journal (above).
Abstracts are often published by the journal in the Year subsequent to the Meeting’s Date

For Full text Free Access Content (from 2000 onwards) go to CryoLetters at Ingenta and look for the blue symbol.