Biology under extreme conditions

Abstract

The conditions for temperature and pressure survival of organisms point to proteins as the primary target. The elliptic shape of the stability phase diagram of proteins in aqueous solutions suggests that hydration and packing specificity are important factors. Pressure is a valuable tool for the study of partially unfolded protein conformations that give rise to aggregation and fibril formation.

Keywords:

• Proteins
• Pressure
• Phase diagram
• Aggregation
• Fibril formation

Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to acknowledge many collaborators and colleagues for experimental contributions and discussions. I am grateful to the Research Fund of the K.U. Leuven and F.W.O. Flanders, Belgium for support.