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The Role of Exopolymers in Microbial Adaptation to Sea Ice

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Psychrophiles: from Biodiversity to Biotechnology

The cellular exterior that a microbe presents to its surroundings marks its first line of defense against environmental pressures that range from energy deprivation and other extreme conditions, including ionic and thermal stress, to viral and higherorder attack. The production of exopolymers, whether to provide an immediate individual coating of multiple functions or to be freely released and shared by other organisms in consortial arrangements or biofilm formations, is a hallmark of microbial life in soil, water, and host (plant and animal)-associated environments. The basic features of exopolymers and their functions pertain to all manner of environments and microbial adaptation, largely independently of ambient temperature. At extreme temperatures, however, where phase changes come into play, special considerations arise.

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  1. Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

    Christopher Krembs

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  1. Christopher Krembs
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  2. Jody W. Deming
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  1. Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Rosa Margesin  & Franz Schinner  & 

  2. Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Liège, Institute of Chemistry B6, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Jean-Claude Marx  & Charles Gerday  & 

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Krembs, C., Deming, J.W. (2008). The Role of Exopolymers in Microbial Adaptation to Sea Ice. In: Margesin, R., Schinner, F., Marx, JC., Gerday, C. (eds) Psychrophiles: from Biodiversity to Biotechnology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74335-4_15

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