The influence of Pseudomonas syringae on water freezing and ice melting

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.