Arthur DeVries

Arthur DeVries is an American cryobiologist whose research focuses on antifreeze glycoproteins found in the bodily fluids of fish. DeVries is noted for his discovery of antifreeze proteins within Antarctic notothenioids, such as toothfish and icefish.

Education DeVries received his B.S. in zoology in 1960 from the University of Montana, and later received his Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University in 1968 following his research on Antarctic notothenioids. While conducting this research, DeVries observed that some species of notothenioid fishes, such as icefish had the capacity to survive water temperatures of -1.9℃. DeVries and Cheng found that a portion of DNA within a gene responsible for the production of a digestive enzyme was duplicated about fourteen million years ago, resulting in the production of an antifreeze protein rather than a digestive enzyme. In their research of the evolutionary history of antifreeze proteins, DeVries and Cheng found evidence of the convergent evolution of antifreeze proteins within Arctic cod, in which they observed a nearly identical antifreeze protein despite a lack of genetic similarity with Antarctic notothenioids. Further examination of the properties of antifreeze proteins by other researchers has resulted in the development of commercial and medical applications of fish antifreeze proteins, such as the preservation of cells during cryosurgery.

Awards and honors The American Association for the Advancement of Science named DeVries a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in recognition of his discovery of antifreeze proteins. In 2014, DeVries was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Roskilde University.

Selected works

DeVries, A. L., & Wohlschlag, D. E. (1969). Freezing Resistance in Some Antarctic Fishes. Science, 163(3871), 1073–1075. DeVries, A. L. (1971). Glycoproteins as Biological Antifreeze Agents in Antarctic Fishes. Science, 172(3988), 1152–1155. L. Chen, A.L. DeVries, & C.C. Cheng, Convergent evolution of antifreeze glycoproteins in Antarctic notothenioid fish and Arctic cod, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94 (8) 3817–3822, (1997).