Articles | Volume 18, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4431-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4431-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 28 Jul 2021
| 28 Jul 2021
Ice nucleation by viruses and their potential for cloud glaciation
Michael P. Adams
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and
Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Nina S. Atanasova
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty
of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Svetlana Sofieva
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty
of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Janne Ravantti
Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty
of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Aino Heikkinen
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
now at: Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, HiLIFE, University of
Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Zoé Brasseur
Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics,
Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Jonathan Duplissy
Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics,
Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Institute of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki,
Finland
Dennis H. Bamford
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty
of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Benjamin J. Murray
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and
Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Cited
19 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Clothing Textiles as Carriers of Biological Ice Nucleation Active Particles C. Teska et al. 10.1021/acs.est.3c09600
- Ice nucleation activity of two Antarctic Sea ice bacteriophages PANV1 and OANV1 and the impact of freezing on their infectivity N. Atanasova et al. 10.1016/j.envadv.2025.100659
- Effect of Aggregation and Molecular Size on the Ice Nucleation Efficiency of Proteins A. Alsante et al. 10.1021/acs.est.3c06835
- Gaps in our understanding of ice-nucleating particle sources exposed by global simulation of the UK Earth System Model R. Herbert et al. 10.5194/acp-25-291-2025
- Identification of Candidate Ice Nucleation Activity (INA) Genes in Fusarium avenaceum by Combining Phenotypic Characterization with Comparative Genomics and Transcriptomics S. Yang et al. 10.3390/jof8090958
- Effect of viral infection on the ice nucleation efficiency of marine coccolithophores A. Alsante et al. 10.1080/02786826.2024.2420675
- Measurement report: Introduction to the HyICE-2018 campaign for measurements of ice-nucleating particles and instrument inter-comparison in the Hyytiälä boreal forest Z. Brasseur et al. 10.5194/acp-22-5117-2022
- Polysaccharides─Important Constituents of Ice-Nucleating Particles of Marine Origin S. Hartmann et al. 10.1021/acs.est.4c08014
- Ice nucleation catalyzed by the photosynthesis enzyme RuBisCO and other abundant biomolecules A. Alsante et al. 10.1038/s43247-023-00707-7
- Linking biogenic high-temperature ice nucleating particles in Arctic soils and streams to their microbial producers L. Jensen et al. 10.5194/ar-3-81-2025
- Surface microlayer-mediated virome dissemination in the Central Arctic J. Rahlff et al. 10.1186/s40168-024-01902-0
- Abundance and activity of sympagic viruses near the Western Antarctic Peninsula A. Rocchi et al. 10.1007/s00300-022-03073-w
- Marine viruses disperse bidirectionally along the natural water cycle J. Rahlff et al. 10.1038/s41467-023-42125-5
- Microfluidics for the biological analysis of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles: Perspectives and challenges M. Tarn et al. 10.1063/5.0236911
- Microbial ice-binding structures: A review of their applications M. Uko et al. 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133670
- Terrestrial runoff is an important source of biological ice-nucleating particles in Arctic marine systems C. Wieber et al. 10.5194/acp-25-3327-2025
- Biological Ice Nucleators in Snow Samples from Greece D. Georgakopoulos 10.3390/atmos12111461
- Evaluating the potential for Haloarchaea to serve as ice nucleating particles J. Creamean et al. 10.5194/bg-18-3751-2021
- Ice nucleation by viruses and their potential for cloud glaciation M. Adams et al. 10.5194/bg-18-4431-2021
17 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Clothing Textiles as Carriers of Biological Ice Nucleation Active Particles C. Teska et al. 10.1021/acs.est.3c09600
- Ice nucleation activity of two Antarctic Sea ice bacteriophages PANV1 and OANV1 and the impact of freezing on their infectivity N. Atanasova et al. 10.1016/j.envadv.2025.100659
- Effect of Aggregation and Molecular Size on the Ice Nucleation Efficiency of Proteins A. Alsante et al. 10.1021/acs.est.3c06835
- Gaps in our understanding of ice-nucleating particle sources exposed by global simulation of the UK Earth System Model R. Herbert et al. 10.5194/acp-25-291-2025
- Identification of Candidate Ice Nucleation Activity (INA) Genes in Fusarium avenaceum by Combining Phenotypic Characterization with Comparative Genomics and Transcriptomics S. Yang et al. 10.3390/jof8090958
- Effect of viral infection on the ice nucleation efficiency of marine coccolithophores A. Alsante et al. 10.1080/02786826.2024.2420675
- Measurement report: Introduction to the HyICE-2018 campaign for measurements of ice-nucleating particles and instrument inter-comparison in the Hyytiälä boreal forest Z. Brasseur et al. 10.5194/acp-22-5117-2022
- Polysaccharides─Important Constituents of Ice-Nucleating Particles of Marine Origin S. Hartmann et al. 10.1021/acs.est.4c08014
- Ice nucleation catalyzed by the photosynthesis enzyme RuBisCO and other abundant biomolecules A. Alsante et al. 10.1038/s43247-023-00707-7
- Linking biogenic high-temperature ice nucleating particles in Arctic soils and streams to their microbial producers L. Jensen et al. 10.5194/ar-3-81-2025
- Surface microlayer-mediated virome dissemination in the Central Arctic J. Rahlff et al. 10.1186/s40168-024-01902-0
- Abundance and activity of sympagic viruses near the Western Antarctic Peninsula A. Rocchi et al. 10.1007/s00300-022-03073-w
- Marine viruses disperse bidirectionally along the natural water cycle J. Rahlff et al. 10.1038/s41467-023-42125-5
- Microfluidics for the biological analysis of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles: Perspectives and challenges M. Tarn et al. 10.1063/5.0236911
- Microbial ice-binding structures: A review of their applications M. Uko et al. 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133670
- Terrestrial runoff is an important source of biological ice-nucleating particles in Arctic marine systems C. Wieber et al. 10.5194/acp-25-3327-2025
- Biological Ice Nucleators in Snow Samples from Greece D. Georgakopoulos 10.3390/atmos12111461
Latest update: 24 Jul 2025
Short summary
The formation of ice in clouds is critically important for the planet's climate. Hence, we need to know which aerosol types nucleate ice and how effectively they do so. Here we show that virus particles, with a range of architectures, nucleate ice when immersed in supercooled water. However, we also show that they only make a minor contribution to the ice-nucleating particle population in the terrestrial atmosphere, but we cannot rule them out as being important in the marine environment.
The formation of ice in clouds is critically important for the planet's climate. Hence, we need...
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