Ice nucleation activity of bacteria isolated from cloud water

► Ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria were recovered from cloud water. ► 16% of the Pseudomonas-like bacteria isolated from cloud water are INA. ► Active strains identified as Pseudomonas syringae, Xanthomonas sp. and Pseudoxanthomonas sp. ► The P. syringae strains from clouds belong to rare clades in the environment. ► The number of bacterial IN in cloud water was estimated to fall between 0 and 500/mL.