Isolation of ice-nucleating active bacteria from the freeze-tolerant frog, Rana sylvatica

Ice-nucleating active (INA) bacteria were isolated from the gut of field-collected freeze-tolerant wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) collected in winter. Thirteen strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, four strains of Pseudomonas putida, and two strains of Enterobacter agglomerans had ice-nucleating activity. Each of the INA pseudomonad strains was psychrophilic. P. putida strains were differentiated from P. fluorescens strains by gelatinase, lecithinase, and lipase production. The maximum nucleation temperatures (Tmax) of aqueous suspensions (10(9) bacteria/ml) of the four INA P. putida strains ranged from -1.6 to -3.0 degrees C, which places this INA species among the most potent known biological nucleators. Ingestion of INA P. putida isolated from R. sylvatica by another freeze-tolerant frog. Pseudacris crucifer, decreased the capacity of this frog to supercool and remain unfrozen at -2 degrees C. This is the first report of INA bacteria isolated from a vertebrate, and suggests that, as part of the gut flora in some posthibernation freeze-tolerant wood frogs, these bacteria may play a role in enhancing winter survival by promoting ice nucleation at high subzero temperatures (ca. -2 degrees C).