scholarly journals Urediospores of <i>Puccinia</i> spp. and other rusts are warm-temperature ice nucleators and harbor ice nucleation active bacteria

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 26143-26171 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Morris ◽  
D. C. Sands ◽  
C. Glaux ◽  
J. Samsatly ◽  
S. Asaad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Warm Temperature ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Ice Nucleators ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. In light of various features of the biology of the rust fungi and of the epidemiology of the plant diseases they cause that illustrate the important role of rainfall in their life history, we have characterized the ice nucleation activity (INA) of the aerially disseminated spores (urediospores) of this group of fungi. Urediospores of this obligate plant parasite were collected from natural infections from 7 species of weeds in France, from coffee in Brazil and from field and greenhouse-grown wheat in France, the USA, Turkey and Syria. Immersion freezing was used to determine freezing onset temperatures and the abundance of ice nuclei in suspensions of washed spores. Microbiological analyses of spores and subsequent tests of the ice nucleation activity of the bacteria associated with spores were deployed to quantify the contribution of bacteria to the ice nucleation activity of the spores. All samples of spores were ice nucleation active having freezing onset temperatures as warm as −4 °C. Spores in most of the samples carried cells of ice nucleation-active strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (at rates of less than 1 bacterial cell per 100 urediospores), but bacterial INA accounted for only a small fraction of the INA observed in spore suspensions. Changes in the INA of spore suspensions after treatment with lysozyme suggest that the INA of urediospores involves a polysaccharide. Based on data from the literature, we have estimated the concentrations of urediospores in air at cloud height and in rainfall. These quantities are very similar to those reported for other biological ice nucleators in these same substrates. We suggest that air sampling techniques have ignored the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric concentrations that occur under conditions propitious for precipitation that could increase their local abundance intermittently. Nevertheless, we propose that the relative low abundance of warm-temperature biological ice nucleators in the atmosphere corresponds to optimal conditions for the processes of evolution to positively select for INA.

scholarly journals Urediospores of rust fungi are ice nucleation active at > −10 °C and harbor ice nucleation active bacteria

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4223-4233 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Morris ◽  
D. C. Sands ◽  
C. Glaux ◽  
J. Samsatly ◽  
S. Asaad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Rust Fungi ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Ice Nucleators ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Various features of the biology of the rust fungi and of the epidemiology of the plant diseases they cause illustrate the important role of rainfall in their life history. Based on this insight we have characterized the ice nucleation activity (INA) of the aerially disseminated spores (urediospores) of this group of fungi. Urediospores of this obligate plant parasite were collected from natural infections of 7 species of weeds in France, from coffee in Brazil and from field and greenhouse-grown wheat in France, the USA, Turkey and Syria. Immersion freezing was used to determine freezing onset temperatures and the abundance of ice nuclei in suspensions of washed spores. Microbiological analyses of spores from France, the USA and Brazil, and subsequent tests of the ice nucleation activity of the bacteria associated with spores were deployed to quantify the contribution of bacteria to the ice nucleation activity of the spores. All samples of spores were ice nucleation active, having freezing onset temperatures as high as −4 °C. Spores in most of the samples carried cells of ice nucleation-active strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (at rates of less than 1 bacterial cell per 100 urediospores), but bacterial INA accounted for only a small fraction of the INA observed in spore suspensions. Changes in the INA of spore suspensions after treatment with lysozyme suggest that the INA of urediospores involves a polysaccharide. Based on data from the literature, we have estimated the concentrations of urediospores in air at cloud height and in rainfall. These quantities are very similar to those reported for other biological ice nucleators in these same substrates. However, at cloud level convective activity leads to widely varying concentrations of particles of surface origin, so that mean concentrations can underestimate their possible effects on clouds. We propose that spatial and temporal concentrations of biological ice nucleators active at temperatures > −10 °C and the specific conditions under which they can influence cloud glaciation need to be further evaluated so as to understand how evolutionary processes could have positively selected for INA.

Biological Ice Nucleation Activity in Lichen Mycobionts and Photobionts

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Kieft ◽  
Vernon Ahmadjian
Keyword(s):  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Moisture Uptake ◽  
Warm Temperature ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Axenic Cultures ◽  
Frost Protection ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
Cladonia Rangiferina

AbstractAxenic cultures of lichen mycobionts and photobionts were assayed for biological ice nucleation activity (INA), a characteristic which has recently been discovered in some species of lichens collected from nature. Of 14 species of mycobionts, five showed nuclei active at −5°C or warmer, while none of the 13 photobionts tested had INA at that temperature. It appears that biological ice nuclei in lichens are produced primarily by the mycobiont. Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca had the greatest INA. Other lichen fungi showing warm temperature INA were Cladonia boryi, Cladonia rangiferina, Lecanora dispersa, and Pertusaria flavicans. Lichen INA may be involved in moisture uptake and/or frost protection.

scholarly journals Survival and ice nucleation activity ofPseudomonas syringaestrains exposed to simulated high-altitude atmospheric conditions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Guarany de Araujo ◽  
Fabio Rodrigues ◽  
Fabio Luiz Teixeira Gonçalves ◽  
Douglas Galante
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Cloud Water ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Important Process ◽  
High Altitudes ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe epiphytic bacteriumPseudomonas syringaeproduces the most efficient and well-studied biological ice nuclei (IN) known. Bioaerosols containing these cells have been proposed to influence cloud glaciation, an important process in the initiation of precipitation. The presence of this species has been reported on rain, snow, and cloud water samples, but how these organisms can survive the harsh conditions present on the high atmosphere still remains to be better understood. In this study, the impact caused by this type of environment onP. syringaewas assayed by measuring their viability and IN activity. Two strains, of the pathovarssyringaeandgarcae, were compared toEscherichia coli.While UV-C radiation effectively inactivated these cells, thePseudomonaswere much more tolerant to UV-B. TheP. syringaestrains were also more resistant to “environmental” UV radiation from a solar simulator, composed of UV-A and UV-B. The response of their IN after long exposures to this radiation varied: only one strain suffered a relatively small 10-fold reduction in IN activity at -5 °C. Desiccation at different relative humidity values also affected the IN, but some activity at -5 °C was still maintained for all tests. The pathovargarcaetended to be more resistant to the stress treatments than the pathovarsyringae, particularly to desiccation, though its IN were found to be more sensitive. Compared toE. coli, theP. syringaestrains seemed relatively better adapted to survival under conditions present on the atmosphere at high altitudes.IMPORTANCEThe plant-associated bacteriumPseudomonas syringaeproduces on its outer membrane highly efficient ice nuclei which are able to induce the freezing of supercooled water. This ability has been linked to increased frost damaged on colonized leaves and also to the formation of ice in clouds, an important process leading to precipitation.P. syringaehas been found on rain, snow, and cloud water samples, confirming its presence on the atmosphere. This study aimed to assess the survival of these cells and the maintenance of their ice nucleation activity under stressing conditions present in high altitudes: ultraviolet radiation and desiccation.P. syringaestrains were shown to at least partially tolerate these factors, and their most efficient ice nuclei, while affected, could still be detected after all experiments.

scholarly journals Effects of atmospheric conditions on ice nucleation activity of <i>Pseudomonas</i>

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 10667-10677 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Attard ◽  
H. Yang ◽  
A.-M. Delort ◽  
P. Amato ◽  
U. Pöschl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Ice Nucleation Protein ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Although ice nuclei from bacterial origin are known to be efficient at the highest temperatures known for ice catalysts, quantitative data are still needed to assess their role in cloud processes. Here we studied the effects of three typical cloud conditions (i) acidic pH (ii) NO2 and O3 exposure and (iii) UV-A exposure on the ice nucleation activity (INA) of four Pseudomonas strains. Three of the Pseudomonas syringae strains were isolated from cloud water and the phyllosphere and Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CGina-01 was isolated from Antarctic glacier ice melt. Among the three conditions tested, acidic pH caused the most significant effects on INA likely due to denaturation of the ice nucleation protein complex. Exposure to NO2 and O3 gases had no significant or only weak effects on the INA of two P. syringae strains whereas the INA of P. fluorescens CGina-01 was significantly affected. The INA of the third P. syringae strain showed variable responses to NO2 and O3 exposure. These differences in the INA of different Pseudomonas suggest that the response to atmospheric conditions could be strain-specific. After UV-A exposure, a substantial loss of viability of all four strains was observed whereas their INA decreased only slightly. This corroborates the notion that under certain conditions dead bacterial cells can maintain their INA. Overall, the negative effects of the three environmental factors on INA were more significant at the warmer temperatures. Our results suggest that in clouds where temperatures are near 0 °C, the importance of bacterial ice nucleation in precipitation processes could be reduced by some environmental factors.

Ice nucleation activity of bacteria isolated from snow compared with organic and inorganic substrates

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Mortazavi ◽  
Christopher T. Hayes ◽  
Parisa A. Ariya
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Inorganic Aerosols ◽  
Ice Nucleators ◽  
Species Population ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
Snow Samples

Environmental context. Biological ice nucleators have been found to freeze water at very warm temperatures. The potential of bio-aerosols to greatly influence cloud chemistry and microphysics is becoming increasingly apparent, yet detailed knowledge of their actual role in atmospheric processes is lacking. The formation of ice in the atmosphere has significant local, regional and global influence, ranging from precipitation to cloud nucleation and thus climate. Ice nucleation tests on bacteria isolated from snow and laboratory-grown bacteria, in comparison with those of known organic and inorganic aerosols, shed light on this issue. Abstract. Ice nucleation experiments on bacteria isolated from snow as well as grown in the laboratory, in comparison with those of known organic and inorganic aerosols, examined the importance of bio-aerosols on cloud processes. Snow samples were collected from urban and suburban sites in the greater Montreal region in Canada (45°28′N, 73°45′W). Among many snow bacterial isolates, eight types of bacterial species, none belonging to known effective ice nucleators such as Pseudomonas or Erwinia genera, were identified to show an intermediate range of ice nucleation activity (–12.9 ± 1.3°C to –17.5 ± 2.8°C). Comparable results were also obtained for molten snow samples and inorganic suspensions (kaolin and montmorillonite) of buffered water solutions. The presence of organic molecules (oxalic, malonic and succinic acids) had minimal effect (<2°C) on ice nucleation. Considering experimental limitations, and drawing from observation in snow samples of a variety of bacterial populations with variable ice-nucleation ability, a shift in airborne-species population may significantly alter glaciation processes in clouds.

scholarly journals Suspendable macromolecules are responsible for ice nucleation activity of birch and conifer pollen

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2541-2550 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Pummer ◽  
H. Bauer ◽  
J. Bernardi ◽  
S. Bleicher ◽  
H. Grothe
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Ice Cloud ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The ice nucleation of bioaerosols (bacteria, pollen, spores, etc.) is a topic of growing interest, since their impact on ice cloud formation and thus on radiative forcing, an important parameter in global climate, is not yet fully understood. Here we show that pollen of different species strongly differ in their ice nucleation behaviour. The average freezing temperatures in laboratory experiments range from 240 to 255 K. As the most efficient nuclei (silver birch, Scots pine and common juniper pollen) have a distribution area up to the Northern timberline, their ice nucleation activity might be a cryoprotective mechanism. Far more intriguingly, it has turned out that water, which has been in contact with pollen and then been separated from the bodies, nucleates as good as the pollen grains themselves. The ice nuclei have to be easily-suspendable macromolecules located on the pollen. Once extracted, they can be distributed further through the atmosphere than the heavy pollen grains and so presumably augment the impact of pollen on ice cloud formation even in the upper troposphere. Our experiments lead to the conclusion that pollen ice nuclei, in contrast to bacterial and fungal ice nucleating proteins, are non-proteinaceous compounds.

scholarly journals Deposition and immersion-mode nucleation of ice by three distinct samples of volcanic ash

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7523-7536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Schill ◽  
K. Genareau ◽  
M. A. Tolbert
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Silica Content ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Immersion Freezing ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Ice nucleation of volcanic ash controls both ash aggregation and cloud glaciation, which affect atmospheric transport and global climate. Previously, it has been suggested that there is one characteristic ice nucleation efficiency for all volcanic ash, regardless of its composition, when accounting for surface area; however, this claim is derived from data from only two volcanic eruptions. In this work, we have studied the depositional and immersion freezing efficiency of three distinct samples of volcanic ash using Raman microscopy coupled to an environmental cell. Ash from the Fuego (basaltic ash, Guatemala), Soufrière Hills (andesitic ash, Montserrat), and Taupo (Oruanui eruption, rhyolitic ash, New Zealand) volcanoes were chosen to represent different geographical locations and silica content. All ash samples were quantitatively analyzed for both percent crystallinity and mineralogy using X-ray diffraction. In the present study, we find that all three samples of volcanic ash are excellent depositional ice nuclei, nucleating ice from 225 to 235 K at ice saturation ratios of 1.05 ± 0.01, comparable to the mineral dust proxy kaolinite. Since depositional ice nucleation will be more important at colder temperatures, fine volcanic ash may represent a global source of cold-cloud ice nuclei. For immersion freezing relevant to mixed-phase clouds, however, only the Oruanui ash exhibited appreciable heterogeneous ice nucleation activity. Similar to recent studies on mineral dust, we suggest that the mineralogy of volcanic ash may dictate its ice nucleation activity in the immersion mode.

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