Aarhus Universitets segl

SAC Seminar - Meilee Ling: Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation of Bacteria Ice Nucleation Active Protein

Oplysninger om arrangementet

Tidspunkt

Torsdag 16. juni 2016,  kl. 15:15 - 16:00

Sted

1525-323

Microorganisms have been proposed to play a role in shaping Earth's climate by acting as ice nuclei (IN), which influence the formation of clouds. This can have significant implications for the global distribution of clouds and precipitation, and therefore for Earth’s weather patterns and climate. From an astrobiology perspective, ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria, which have the potential to affect the planetary albedo through changed cloud coverage, are interesting as potential remote bio-signatures. In order to evaluate the effects of bacterial ice nucleation, there is a need to studying the ice nucleating ability of INA proteins. INA proteins have the capability of facilitating the formation of ice crystals in supercooled water by acting as a template for ice formation and efficiently inducing freezing at temperatures much higher than mineral aerosols. The level of ice nucleation activity of bacteria is dependent on the number of INA proteins that promote oligomerization and binding of water molecules. Hitherto, ice nuclei studies involving bioaerosols mostly focus on entire bacterial cells or cell fragments, while the role of INA proteins in the atmosphere has not been addressed. In this study, we will investigate the ice nucleation potential of the purified truncated form of the INA protein (INP16R) designed from the P. syringae (R10.79).