Ice-nucleating proteins are activated by low temperatures to control the structure of interfacial water.

ABSTRACT: Ice-nucleation active (INA) bacteria can promote the growth of ice more effectively than any other known material. Using specialized ice-nucleating proteins (INPs), they obtain nutrients from plants by inducing frost damage and, when airborne in the atmosphere, they drive ice nucleation within clouds, which may affect global precipitation patterns. Despite their evident environmental importance, the molecular mechanisms behind INP-induced freezing have remained largely elusive. We investigate the structural basis for the interactions between water and the ice-nucleating protein InaZ from the INA bacterium Pseudomonas syringae. Using vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) and two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the ice-active repeats of InaZ adopt a β-helical stru

SUBMITTER: Roeters SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7895962 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature