Collin and co-authors Publish Article

Collin Jurrakko and his co-authors have published an article titled “Brachypodium Antifreeze Protein Gene Products Inhibit Ice Recrystallisation, Attenuate Ice Nucleation, and Reduce Immune Response”.

Frost events are responsible for billions of dollars in crop damage and local economies worldwide annually with the frequency and severity increasing due to climate change largely due to ubiquitous ice-nucleating pathogens. We’ve demonstrated the capabilities of a unique antifreeze protein from the grass, Brachypodium distachyon, with dual anti-ice and anti-pathogenic activity in which gene products are able to bind and control the growth of ice crystals so to prevent ice-recrystallization damage to cells, attenuate pathogenic ice nucleation by docking on ice-nucleating proteins, and dampen the energy costly host immune response so as to maintain yields.