Ancient bacterial gene enables fungi to produce ice-nucleating proteins influencing weather
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 27
Ancient bacterial gene enables fungi to produce ice-nucleating proteins influencing weather
7 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 27
Researchers led by Boris Vinatzer at Virginia Tech identified a bacterial gene, nearly identical to InaZ, in Mortierellaceae fungi that allows them to create ice-nucleating proteins.
This gene, acquired via horizontal gene transfer millions of years ago, enables fungi to trigger rain by forming ice crystals in clouds, potentially making them more influential than bacteria in precipitation.
The discovery could lead to environmentally friendly alternatives to silver iodide in cloud-seeding operations and sheds light on the evolutionary and ecological roles of fungi in the water cycle.
Can this fungal secret finally offer a reliable defense against crop frost?
Could seeding clouds with fungal proteins have unforeseen ecological consequences?
Are fungi, not bacteria, the true masters of Earth's precipitation cycle?
How soon could fungal proteins improve the texture of our frozen foods?
Will a 'natural' way to make rain solve or worsen global water conflicts?
What other ancient secrets has life swapped between kingdoms through gene transfer?