Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ice-minus

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.96 in modern English

Syllables: ice-mi-nus
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A genetically modified bacterium created from Pseudomona syringae that inhibits the formation of ice crystals, thereby making some crops more frost tolerant.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Bees are know to carry the natural version of P. syringae after pollinating strawberry plants, but AGS points out that ice-minus poses no threat to other plants or insects."
"For ice-minus, the proposed mechanism was that engineered organisms would displace natural ones, and the hazard was a disruption of ecological processes in which ice formation is critical."
"In laboratory experiments, ice-minus conferred frost-tolerance on strawberries on to which it was sprayed."

Etymology

Coined by Stephen Lindlow because it lacks the gene he calls "ice" that creates a protein which provides a regular surface for the formation of ice.

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

ice minus (alternative)

Questions

What does ice-minus mean?: A genetically modified bacterium created from Pseudomona syringae that inhibits the formation of ice crystals, thereby making some crops more frost tolerant.
Where does ice-minus come from?: Coined by Stephen Lindlow because it lacks the gene he calls "ice" that creates a protein which provides a regular surface for the formation of ice.

How to pronounce ice-minus

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