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Cold-loving microbes, plants, and animals—fundamental and applied aspects

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Abstract

Microorganisms, plants, and animals have successfully colonized cold environments, which represent the majority of the biosphere on Earth. They have evolved special mechanisms to overcome the life-endangering influence of low temperature and to survive freezing. Cold adaptation includes a complex range of structural and functional adaptations at the level of all cellular constituents, such as membranes, proteins, metabolic activity, and mechanisms to avoid the destructive effect of intracellular ice formation. These strategies offer multiple biotechnological applications of cold-adapted organisms and/or their products in various fields. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of microorganisms, plants, and animals to cope with the cold and the resulting biotechnological perspectives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology, Leopold Franzens University, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    R. Margesin

  2. Institute of Botany, Leopold Franzens University, Sternwartestrasse 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    G. Neuner

  3. Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada

    K. B. Storey

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  1. R. Margesin
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  3. K. B. Storey
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Margesin, R., Neuner, G. & Storey, K.B. Cold-loving microbes, plants, and animals—fundamental and applied aspects. Naturwissenschaften 94, 77–99 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0162-6

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