BookMari Iwaya-Inoue, Minoru Sakurai, Matsuo Uemura, editors.
Summary: "This book comprehensively describes biological phenomena, adaptation mechanisms, and strategies of living organisms to survive under extremely cold or desiccated conditions at molecular, cellular, and organ levels. It also provides tremendous potential for applications of the findings to a wide variety of industries. The volume consists of three parts: Part 1, Adaptation Mechanisms of Cold, and Part 2, Adaptation Mechanisms of Desiccation, collect up-to-date research on mechanisms and strategies of living organisms such as sleeping chironomids, polar marine fishes, hibernating mammals, bryophytes, dormant seeds, and boreal plants to survive under extreme cold and desiccated conditions at molecular, cellular, and organ levels. Part 3, Application Technologies from Laboratory to Society, covers various applications to a wide variety of industries such as the medical, food, and agricultural and life science industries. For example, biological knowledge of how plants and animals survive under cold, drought, and desiccated conditions may provide a hint on how we can improve crop production in a very fragile environment in global climate change. Unique molecules that protect cells during desiccation and freezing such as trehalose and antifreeze protein (AFP) have potential for use to preserve cells, tissues, and organs for the long term under very stable conditions. In addition, the current progress of supercooling technology of cells may lead us to solve problems of cellular high sensitivity to freezing injury, which will dramatically improve the usability of these cells. Furthermore, knowledge of water substitution and glass formation as major mechanisms for formulation designs and new drying technologies will contribute to the development of food preservation and drug delivery systems under dry conditions. Written by contributors who have been conducting cutting-edge science in related fields, this title is recommended to a wide variety of readers who are interested in learning from such organisms their strategies, mechanisms, and applications, and it will inspire researchers in various disciplines"--Publisher's description.
Contents:
Adaptation mechanisms for cold. Gene regulatory networks mediating cold acclimation: the CBF pathway / Javier Barrero-Gil, Julio Salinas
RNA regulation in plant cold stress response / Kentaro Nakaminami, Motoaki Seki
The mechanism enabling hibernation in mammals / Yuuki Horii, Takahiko Shiina, Yasutake Shimizu
Freezing tolerance of plant cells: from the aspect of plasma membrane and microdomain / Daisuke Takahashi, Matsuo Uemura, Yukio Kawamura
Natural variation in freezing tolerance and cold acclimation response in Arabidopsis thaliana and related species / Ellen Zuther, Yang Ping Lee, Alexander Erban, Joachim Kopka, Dirk K. Hincha
Ice nucleation activity in plants: the distribution, characterization, and their roles in cold hardiness mechanisms / Masaya Ishikawa, Hideyuki Yamazaki, Tadashi Kishimoto, Hiroki Murakawa, Timothy Stait-Gardner, Kazuyuki Kuchitsu [and others]
Investigating freezing patterns in plants using infrared thermography / David P. Livingston III
Mechanism of overwintering in trees / Keita Arakawa, Jun Kasuga, Naoki Takata
The mechanism of low-temperature tolerance in fish / Kiyoshi Soyano, Yuji Mushirobira
Adaptation mechanisms for desiccation. Mechanisms underlying freezing and desiccation tolerance in bryophytes / Daisuke Takezawa
Regulatory gene networks in drought stress responses and resistance in plants / Fuminori Takahashi, Takashi Kuromori, Hikaru Sato, Kazuo Shinozaki
Mechanism of stomatal closure in plants exposed to drought and cold stress / Srinivas Agurla, Shashibhushan Gahir, Shintaro Munemasa, Yoshiyuki Murata, Agepati S. Raghavendra
Mechanisms of maturation and germination in crop seeds exposed to environmental stresses with a focus on nutrients, water status, and reactive oxygen species / Yushi Ishibashi, Takashi Yuasa, Mari Iwaya-Inoue
The antioxidant system in the anhydrobiotic midge as an essential, adaptive mechanism for desiccation survival / Alexander Nesmelov, Richard Cornette, Oleg Gusev, Takahiro Kikawada
Physicochemical aspects of the biological functions of trehalose and group 3 LEA proteins as desiccation protectants / Takao Furuki, Minoru Sakurai
Application technologies from laboratory to society. Supercooling-promoting (anti-ice nucleation) substances / Seizo Fujikawa, Chikako Kuwabara, Jun Kasuga, Keita Arakawa
Applications of antifreeze proteins: practical use of the quality products from japanese fishes / Sheikh Mahatabuddin, Sakae Tsuda
Development and application of cryoprotectants / Robin Rajan, Kazuaki Matsumura
Cryopreservation of plant genetic resources / Daisuke Tanaka, Takao Niino, Matsuo Uemura
Applications of freezing and freeze-drying in pharmaceutical formulations / Ken-ichi Izutsu
Control of physical changes in food products / Kiyoshi Kawai, Tomoaki Hagiwara.