An experimental setup to study microbially-produced ice nucleating proteins

Microbially-produced ice nucleating proteins (INpro) are the most efficient ice nucleators in nature. They are present in terrestrial, marine and atmospheric environments and maintain their activity for over 30,000 years. While pure water freezes at -38°C, INpro are unique in that they can initiate freezing just below 0°C, which is at a much higher temperature than ice nucleation of any known mineral particle. INpro cause extensive frost damage of crops and impact cloud radiative properties and lifetime. They have important commercial applications, including artificial snow production, cloud seeding, crop protection and food processing. We will use the funding from the Carlsberg Foundation to build an experimental system for quantifying INpro in natural and laboratory settings.