Survival of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, oocytes in relation to intracellular ice formation

VASA expression suggests shared germ line dynamics in bivalve molluscs

Germ line segregation can occur during embryogenesis or after embryogenesis completion, with multipotent cells able to give rise to both germ and somatic cells in the developing juvenile or even in adulthood. These undifferentiated cells, in some animals, are self-renewing stem cells. In all these cell lineages, the same set of genes, among which vasa, appears to be expressed. We traced VASA expression during the peculiar gonad rebuilding of bivalves to verify its presence from undifferentiated germ cells to mature gametes in an animal taxon in which the mechanism of germ line establishment is still under investigation. We utilized antibodies produced against VASPH, VASA homolog of Ruditapes philippinarum (Subclass Heterodonta), to compare the known expression pattern of R. philippinarum to two species of the Subclass Pteriomorphia, Anadara kagoshimensis and Crassostrea gigas, and another species of the Subclass Heterodonta, Mya arenaria. The immunohistological data obtained support a conserved mechanism of proliferation of "primordial stem cells" among the simple columnar epithelium of the gut, as well as in the connective tissue, contributing to the seasonal gonad reconstitution. Given the taxonomic separation of the analyzed species, we suggest that the process could be shared in bivalve molluscs. The presence of germ cell precursors in the gut epithelium appears to be a feature in common with model organisms, such as mouse, fruit fly, and human. Thus, the comparative study of germ line establishment can add details on bivalve development, but can also help to clarify the role that VASA plays during germ cell specification.

The ability to survive intracellular freezing in nematodes is related to the pattern and distribution of ice formed

A few species of nematodes can survive extensive intracellular freezing throughout all their tissues, an event that is usually thought to be fatal to cells. How are they able to survive in this remarkable way? The pattern and distribution of ice formed, after freezing at -10°C, can be observed using freeze substitution and transmission electron microscopy, which preserves the former position of ice as white spaces. We compared the pattern and distribution of ice formed in a nematode that survives intracellular freezing well (Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1), one that survives poorly (Panagrellus redivivus) and one with intermediate levels of survival (Plectus murrayi). We also examined Panagrolaimus sp. in which the survival of freezing had been compromised by starvation. Levels of survival were as expected and the use of vital dyes indicated cellular damage in those that survived poorly (starved Panagrolaimus sp. and P. murrayi). In fed Panagrolaimus sp. the intracellular ice spaces were small and uniform, whilst in P. redivivus and starved Panagrolaimus sp. there were some large spaces that may be causing cellular damage. The pattern and distribution of ice formed was different in P. murrayi, with a greater number of individuals having no ice or only small intracellular ice spaces. Control of the size of the ice formed is thus important for the survival of intracellular freezing in nematodes.

Effects of cryopreservation of Phaseolus vulgaris L. seeds on early stages of germination

In this work, we studied the effects of cryopreservation on various parameters of early stages of germination of Phaseolus vulgaris seeds (0, 7 and 14 days). Percentages of germination, fresh mass of different plant parts, levels of chlorophyll pigments (a, b, total), malondialdehyde, other aldehydes, phenolics (cell wall-linked, free, and total) and protein were determined. No phenotypic changes were observed visually in seedlings recovered from cryopreserved seeds. However, several significant effects of seed liquid nitrogen exposure were recorded at the biochemical level. There was a significant negative effect of cryopreservation on shoot protein content, which decreased from 3.11 mg g(-1) fresh weight for non-cryopreserved controls to 0.44 mg g(-1) fresh shoot weight for cryopreserved seeds. On the other hand, cryopreservation significantly increased levels of other aldehydes than malondialdehyde in shoots at day 7, from 56.47 μmol g(-1) for non-cryopreserved controls to 253.19 μmol g(-1) fresh shoot weight for cryopreserved samples. Liquid nitrogen exposure significantly reduced phenolics contents (free, cell-wall linked, total) in roots at day 7 after onset of germination. In general, roots were more affected by cryostorage compared with other plant parts, while leaves were the least affected. The effects of seed cryopreservation seem to decline progressively along with seedling growth.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) mitigates the damaging effects of intracellular ice formation in adult stem cells

The objective of this work was to assess the effect of 10% (w/v) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the pattern of intracellular ice formation (IIF) in human adipose tissue derived adult stem cells (ASCs) in the absence of serum and other cryoprotective agents (CPAs). The freezing experiments were carried out using a fluorescence microscope equipped with a Linkam cooling stage using two cooling protocols. Both the cooling protocols had a common cooling ramp: cells were cooled from 20 degrees C to -8 degrees C at 20 degrees C/min and then further cooled to -13 degrees C at 1 degrees C/min. At this point we employed either cooling protocol 1: the cells were cooled from -13 degrees C to -40 degrees C at a pre-determined cooling rate of 1, 5, 10, 20, or 40 degrees C/min and then thawed back to 20 degrees C at 20 degrees C/min; or cooling protocol 2: the cells were re-warmed from -13 degrees C to -5 degrees C at 20 degrees C/min and then re-cooled at a pre-determined rate of 1, 5, 10, 20, or 40 degrees C/min to -40 degrees C. Almost all (>95%) of the ASCs frozen in 1x PBS and protocol 1 exhibited IIF. However, almost none (<5%) of the ASCs frozen in 1x PBS and protocol 2 exhibited IIF. Similarly, almost all (>95%) of the ASCs frozen in 10% PVP in PBS and protocol 1 exhibited IIF. However, ~0, ~40, ~47, ~67, and ~100% of the ASCs exhibited IIF when frozen in 10% PVP in PBS and utilizing protocol 2 at a cooling rate of 1, 5, 10, 20, or 40 degrees C/min, respectively.

Nucleation and solidification in static arrays of monodisperse drops

The precise measurement of nucleation and non-equilibrium solidification are vital to fields as diverse as atmospheric science, food processing, cryopreservation and metallurgy. The emulsion technique, where the phase under study is partitioned into many droplets suspended within an immiscible continuous phase, is a powerful method for uncovering rates of nucleation and dynamics of phase changes as it isolates nucleation events to single droplets. However, averaging the behavior of many drops in a bulk emulsion leads to the loss of any drop-specific information, and drop polydispersity clouds the analysis. Here we adapt a microfluidic technique for trapping monodisperse drops in planar arrays to characterize solidification of highly supercooled aqueous solutions of glycerol. This system measured rates of nucleation between 10(-5) and 10(-2) pL(-1) s(-1), yielded an ice-water interfacial energy of 33.4 mJ m(-2) between -38 and -35 degrees C, and enabled the specific dynamics of solidification to be observed for over a hundred drops in parallel without any loss of specificity. In addition to the physical insights gained, the ability to observe the time and temperature of nucleation and subsequent growth of the solid phase in static arrays of uniform drops provides a powerful tool to discover thermodynamic protocols that generate desirable crystal structures.

Visualization of intracellular ice formation using high-speed video cryomicroscopy

A high-speed video cryomicroscopy system was developed, and used to observe the process of intracellular ice formation (IIF) during rapid freezing (130 degrees C/min) of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells adherent to glass substrates, or in suspension. Adherent cells were micropatterned, constraining cell attachment to reproducible circular or rectangular domains. Employing frame rates of 8000 frames/s and 16,000 frames/s to record IIF in micropatterned and suspended cells, respectively, intracellular crystal growth manifested as a single advancing front that initiated from a point source within the cell, and traveled at velocities of 0.0006-0.023 m/s. Whereas this primary crystallization process resulted in minimal change in cell opacity, the well-known flashing phenomenon (i.e., cell darkening) was shown to be a secondary event that does not occur until after the ice front has traversed the cell. In cells that were attached and spread on a substrate, IIF initiation sites were preferentially localized to the peripheral zone of the adherent cells. This non-uniformity in the spatial distribution of crystal centers contradicts predictions based on common theories of IIF, and provides evidence for a novel mechanism of IIF in adherent cells. A second IIF mechanism was evident in approximately 20% of attached cells. In these cases, IIF was preceded by paracellular ice penetration; the initiation site of the subsequent IIF event was correlated with the location of the paracellular ice dendrite, indicating an association (and possibly a causal relationship) between the two. Together, the peripheral-zone and dendrite-associated initiation mechanisms accounted for 97% of IIF events in micropatterned cells.