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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.08.21.746139

AFP-R: An Open Resource Dedicated to Antifreeze Proteins

Liu, W.·Zhang, Y.·Xiu, D.·Liu, Y.·Wang, T.·Chai, X.·Qu, H.·Min, Y.·Zhang, Z.
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Abstract

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs), lower the freezing point via thermal hysteresis activity and/or ice recrystallization inhibition, playing a crucial role in protecting organisms from freezing damage under sub-zero milieu. This property endows them with promising applications in biomedicine and agriculture, ranging from tissue-organ cryopreservation to the development of frost-resistant crops. However, the lack of comprehensive resources dedicated for AFPs hinders further progress in elucidating their functional mechanisms and advancing their applications. Here, we report AFP-R, an online resource comprising AFP-DB and AFP-Predictor. AFP-DB is a comprehensive database with manually curated proteins bearing experimentally validated antifreeze activity derived from published literature, whereas AFP-Predictor is a sequence-based machine-learning model to identify AFPs. AFP-DB stores diverse AFP-related information, including sequences, structures, post-translational modifications, taxonomy and annotations of antifreeze-activity experimental assays. It now holds 186 entries, 607 sub-entries, and 1444 experimental records. AFP-Predictor, an AFP-identification algorithm built on protein language model ESM2 (Evolutionary Scale Modeling2), is trained on data in AFP-DB and outperforms several existing models. This work offers a valuable resource for systematically dissecting the mechanisms underlying AFP antifreeze activity and will facilitate their broader applications.

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Liu, W., Zhang, Y., Xiu, D., Liu, Y., Wang, T., Chai, X., Qu, H., Min, Y., Zhang, Z.. 2026-08-25. AFP-R: An Open Resource Dedicated to Antifreeze Proteins. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.21.746139

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