Antifreeze polypeptides from the Newfoundland ocean pout, Macrozoarces americanus: presence of multiple and compositionally diverse components

Eight major antifreeze polypeptides (AFP) were purified from the sera of Newfoundland ocean pout (M. americanus ). Except for their approximately identical sizes, (6,000 Dalton), these components were shown to be separate entities by their hehaviour. They could also be divided into 2 cross reactive, yet distinct, immunological groups. Amino acid analysis demonstrated that ocean pout AFP are different from all of the other antifreezes studied to date. It is suggested that ocean pout AFP represent a new type of macromolecular antifreeze.