Team:KULeuven

E.D. FROSTI: CONTROLLING ICE FORMATION

Our team will engineer a bacterium that can perform 2 different functions; depending on the stimulus used, it will either induce ice crystallization or inhibit ice formation.

To stimulate ice formation, we will let our bacterium produce Ice Nucleating Proteins (INP), which stimulate the formation of ice crystals. These bacteria could be used in lakes to make the ice stronger, so maybe in future, we can once again have a "11-stedentocht" in the Netherlands. You could use this property as well for the creation of fluorescent ice on ski-slopes or for trendy cocktails with glowing ice cubes in it. Also, it would decrease ice-melting of glaciers, thereby effectively slowing down global warming.

The second function of E.D. Frosti is the anti-freeze function by the production of Anti Freeze Proteins (AFP). These bacteria could then be used as anti-freeze biofilms on roads, which would help the roads become ice and snow free in winters. Also other applications which require ice melting could benefit from our bacterium.