In order to survive harsh northern habitats the wood frog utilizes glucose to depress the freezing point of vital organs, while the rest of the frog virtually freezes solid. Wood frogs are also capable of breeding and laying eggs in very early spring when water temperatures are near freezing. It is this unusual ability to function near 0 o C that has drawn our attention to muscle function in these amphibians.
Wood frogs are poikilotherms and rely on the environment for heat.
This will allow us to investigate the relationship between specific amino acid sequences and functional differences between the enzymes from the two frog species.