Articles | Volume 22, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2087-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2087-2025
Research article
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29 Apr 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 29 Apr 2025

Peltigera lichen thalli produce highly potent ice-nucleating agents

Rosemary J. Eufemio, Galit Renzer, Mariah Rojas, Jolanta Miadlikowska, Todd L. Sformo, François Lutzoni, Boris A. Vinatzer, and Konrad Meister

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Cited articles

de Almeida Ribeiro, I., Meister, K., and Molinero, V.: HUB: a method to model and extract the distribution of ice nucleation temperatures from drop-freezing experiments, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5623–5639, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5623-2023, 2023. 
Arnold, A. E., Miadlikowska, J., Higgins, K. L., Sarvate, S. D., Gugger, P., Way, A., Hofstetter, V., Kauff, F., and Lutzoni, F.: A phylogenetic estimation of trophic transition networks for ascomycetous fungi: Are lichens cradles of symbiotrophic fungal diversification?, Syst. Biol., 58, 283–297, 2009. 
Ashworth, E. N. and Kieft, T. L.: Measurement of ice nucleation in lichens using thermal analysis, Cryobiology, 29, 400–406, 1992. 
Bieber, P. and Borduas-Dedekind, N.: High-speed cryo-microscopy reveals that ice-nucleating proteins of Pseudomonas syringae trigger freezing at hydrophobic interfaces, Sci. Adv., 10, eadn6606, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn6606, 2024. 
Cornejo, C., Scheidegger, C., and Honegger, R.: Axenic Cultivation of mycelium of the lichenized fungus, Lobaria pulmonaria (Peltigerales, Ascomycota), Bio-Protocol, 5, e1513–e1513, 2015. 
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Co-editor-in-chief
Peltigera clouds? This fascinating manuscript demonstrates the potential of Peltigera lichens from across a range of ecosystems to generate potent biological ice nucleators. These Peltigera lichen ice nucleators can be more potent than the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae, which is often viewed as the most efficient biological ice nucleators. Given the widespread occurrence of Peltigera across the globe, these lichen may be important contributors to biological ice nucleation.
Short summary
Biological ice nucleation plays key roles in organism survival and in shaping Earth’s atmospheric patterns. Our pan-American screening of Peltigera lichens reveals that the lichen thalli produce highly active ice nucleators (INs) resistant to freeze–thaw cycles. Notably, a pure fungal culture from Peltigera britannica released the most potent INs reported to date. Given the global abundance of these lichens, the INs may be important contributors to atmospheric processes.
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