Bacterial cryoprotectants

Cold-adapted organisms are known to accumulate cryoprotective substances inside their cells. Glycine betaine is a bacterial cryoprotectant. It is believed to act by stabilizing cellular proteins and membranes at low temperature. M K Chattopadhyay is working as a Scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, on cold adaptation in Antarctic bacteria. “There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all… It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe… The impression of design is overwhelming.”