... Metabolomics Cryoprotectant Compatible solute Preferential exclusion Protein aggregation Organisms as diverse as bacteria, plants and animals are known to naturally accumulate small protective molecules in response to various environmental stressors (recently reviewed in Yancey and Siebenaller...

... and derivatives,polyols and sugars, methylamines, methylsulfonium compounds and urea. Except for urea, they are often called `compatible solutes', a term indicating lack of perturbing effects on cellular macromolecules and implying interchangeability. However, these features may not always exist, for three...