{"id":90,"date":"2026-04-13T10:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/how-hidden-soil-fungi-steal-bacterial-dna-to-control-the-rain\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:27:02","slug":"how-hidden-soil-fungi-steal-bacterial-dna-to-control-the-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/how-hidden-soil-fungi-steal-bacterial-dna-to-control-the-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"How hidden soil fungi \u2018steal\u2019 bacterial DNA to control the rain"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> Lukas Jonaitis\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tiny organisms on the ground \u2013 bacteria and fungi \u2013 have a \u201csuperpower\u201d that allows them to reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain, according to a recent study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To understand how a microbe can control a storm, we first have to look at how clouds become rain. High up in the atmosphere, water doesn\u2019t always freeze at 0\u00b0C. Temperatures are normally much lower at cloud level but pure water can stay liquid<\/a> down to a bone-chilling -40\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

Most rain starts as ice<\/a>. In the atmosphere, clouds are full of \u201csupercooled\u201d water \u2013 liquid that is colder than freezing but hasn\u2019t turned to ice yet because it has nothing to hold onto. <\/p>\n

For a cloud to turn into rain or snow, it needs a \u201cseed\u201d\u2013 a tiny particle for water molecules to grab onto so they can crystallise into ice, then fall from the clouds as rain. Dust, soot and salt \u2013 swept into the clouds by wind \u2013 can do this<\/a>, but they aren\u2019t very good at it. They usually require the temperature to drop significantly before they start working. This is where biology enters the frame. <\/p>\n

Meet the ice-makers<\/h2>\n

For decades, scientists have known<\/a> about ice-nucleating proteins (INpros) found in certain bacteria like Pseudomonas syringae<\/a><\/em>. Bacteria travel from plant leaves into the clouds to trigger rain<\/a>. They use special proteins to force water to freeze at temperatures as high as -2\u00b0C. <\/p>\n

However, the recent discovery published in the journal Science Advances has revealed a new player in the climate game: fungal INpros<\/a>. While bacteria keep their ice-making proteins tucked away on their \u201cskin\u201d<\/a>, fungi (mainly Fusarium<\/a><\/em> and Mortierella<\/a><\/em>) secrete these proteins into the soil around them. Their structure makes these fungal proteins water soluble and smaller than the bacterial ones, and with a high ice seeding activity which makes them more effective cloud seeds. <\/p>\n

Making it rain<\/h2>\n

This leads us to the bio-precipitation cycle<\/a>. Imagine a forest floor covered in these fungi. As the wind kicks up, their microscopic ice-making proteins are launched into the clouds. Once there, they act as powerful \u201cseeds\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n \"Mycelium
\n Fungal spores from the forest floor can get carried up to the clouds by the winds.<\/span>
\n ABO PHOTOGRAPHY\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even in relatively warm clouds (above -5\u00b0C), these fungal proteins can force water to crystallise into ice. As these ice crystals grow, they become heavy and fall. As they drop through warmer air, they melt and turn into rain. <\/p>\n

This creates a loop: <\/p>\n