Water binding in antifreeze proteins and dehydrins

我们经常听到人体70%以上是由水组成的。现代生活使水看起来像其他任何液体一样--潮湿而乏味。然而，对科学家来说，水是极其复杂的，它的特殊性质使其成为生命所必需的。我的研究重点是试图了解水是如何与蛋白质相互作用的。蛋白质是细胞和我们身体的积木和机械，细胞可以为许多不同的功能形成数万种不同版本的蛋白质。接下来，我们将检查两种特定的蛋白质，一种是抗冻蛋白，它可以保护一些鱼、昆虫、植物和细菌免受冷冻致死；另一种是脱水蛋白，它是在脱水过程中提供保护的植物蛋白质。抗冻蛋白结合并抑制冰的生长，而脱水蛋白被认为通过结合大量水和防止蛋白质变形来防止脱水过程中的损害。我们将研究这些蛋白质，因为它们都涉及水(或冰)的结合。了解这些蛋白质中的水结合将为我们从总体上理解蛋白质的水结合以及水结合对蛋白质重要功能的影响提供信息。

We often hear how the human body is made up of over 70% water. Modern living has made water seem like almost any other liquid - wet and uninteresting. Yet to scientists water is extremely complex and its special properties make it essential for life. My research focuses on trying to understand how water interacts with proteins. Proteins are the building blocks and machinery of cells and our bodies, where cells can form tens of thousands different versions of proteins for many different functions.       We will examine two specific proteins called antifreeze proteins, which protect a number of fish, insects, plants and bacteria from freezing to death, and dehydrins, which are plant proteins that provide protection during dehydration. Antifreeze proteins bind to and inhibit the growth of ice, while dehydrins are thought to prevent damage during dehydration by binding large amounts of water and preventing proteins from changing shape. We will study these proteins since they both involve the binding of water (or ice). Understanding water binding in these proteins will provide us with information to understand water binding of proteins in general, and the effect water binding may have on important protein functions.