Ice-minus

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A genetically modified bacterium created from Pseudomona syringae that inhibits the formation of ice crystals, thereby making some crops more frost tolerant. uncountable

    "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."

Example

More examples

"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."

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.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.