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

Steven J. Roeters, Thaddeus W. Golbek, Mikkel Bregnhøj, Taner Drace, Sarah Alamdari, Winfried Roseboom, Gertjan Kramer, Tina Šantl-Temkiv, Kai Finster, Jim Pfaendtner, Sander Woutersen, Thomas Boesen and Tobias Weidner ()
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Steven J. Roeters: Aarhus University
Thaddeus W. Golbek: Aarhus University
Mikkel Bregnhøj: Aarhus University
Taner Drace: Aarhus University
Sarah Alamdari: University of Washington
Winfried Roseboom: University of Amsterdam
Gertjan Kramer: University of Amsterdam
Tina Šantl-Temkiv: Aarhus University
Kai Finster: Aarhus University
Jim Pfaendtner: University of Washington
Sander Woutersen: University of Amsterdam
Thomas Boesen: Aarhus University
Tobias Weidner: Aarhus University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: 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 structure in solution and at water surfaces. In this configuration, interaction between INPs and water molecules imposes structural ordering on the adjacent water network. The observed order of water increases as the interface is cooled to temperatures close to the melting point of water. Experimental SFG data combined with molecular-dynamics simulations and spectral calculations show that InaZ reorients at lower temperatures. This reorientation can enhance water interactions, and thereby the effectiveness of ice nucleation.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-21349-3

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21349-3

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