Concentration-dependent oligomerization of an alpha-helical antifreeze polypeptide makes it hyperactive

A supersoluble 40-residue type I antifreeze protein (AFP) was discovered in a righteye flounder, the barfin plaice (bp). Unlike all other AFPs characterized to date, bpAFP transitions from moderately-active to hyperactive with increasing concentration. At sub-mM concentrations, bpAFP bound to pyramidal planes of ice to shape it into a bi-pyramidal hexagonal trapezohedron, similarly to the other moderately-active AFPs. At mM concentrations, bpAFP uniquely underwent further binding to the whole ice crystal surface including the basal planes. The latter caused a bursting ice crystal growth normal to c-axis, 3 °C of high thermal hysteresis, and alteration of an ice crystal into a smaller lemon-shaped morphology, all of which are well-known properties of hyperactive AFPs. Analytical ultracentrifugation showed this activity transition is associated with oligomerization to form tetramer, which might be the forerunner of a naturally occurring four-helix-bundle AFP in other flounders.