The influence of Pseudomonas syringae on water freezing and ice melting

PLoS One. 2022 May 12;17(5):e0265683. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265683. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Pseudomonas syringae is a widely spread plant pathogen known to have ice-nucleating proteins that serve as crystallization sites promoting ice growth at near-zero temperatures. Three temperatures that characterize water freezing and ice melting are (i) the freezing point of water, (ii) the temperature of coexistence of ice and water, and (iii) the melting point of ice. Here we show the influence of different concentrations of P. syringae on these three parameters. P. syringae appears to affect both the freezing point of water and the temperature of the coexistence of ice and water. Additionally, we propose a research technique for studying the freezing/melting process that is simple and requires no complex equipment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization
  • Freezing
  • Ice*
  • Pseudomonas syringae / metabolism
  • Water* / chemistry

Substances

  • Ice
  • Water

Grants and funding

All the authors of this work was funded by Russian Science Foundation, grant number 21-14-00268. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.