Psychrophiles: Genetics, Genomics, Evolution

  • Federico M. Lauro
  • Michelle A. Allen
  • David Wilkins
  • Timothy J. Williams
  • Ricardo Cavicchioli
Reference work entry

Introduction

From the deepest depths of the ocean to the highest alpine peaks of the mountains, from the darkness of subterranean caves to the intense radiation of the upper atmosphere, and from the Northern to the Southern polar extremes, over two thirds of the Earth’s biosphere is dominated by cold habitats. In these cold zones, psychrophilic microorganisms thrive, actively metabolizing at temperatures as low as –20°C, surviving at –45°C (Margesin and Schinner 1999; Feller and Gerday 2003; Cavicchioli 2006) and in the process driving critical global biogeochemical cycles. Yet, despite the fundamental role that these organisms play within the cold biosphere, relatively little is known about their identity, their physiology, how they have evolved, and the biogeochemical processes they perform.

The classic definition of the term, psychrophile, which derives from the Greek words ψυχρος (psukhros, cold) and φιλειν (philein, to love), is for an organism with an optimal growth temperature (T

Keywords

Protein Code Gene tRNA Gene Cold Shock Cold Adaptation rRNA Operon 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Federico M. Lauro
    • 1
  • Michelle A. Allen
    • 1
  • David Wilkins
    • 1
  • Timothy J. Williams
    • 1
  • Ricardo Cavicchioli
    • 1
  1. 1.School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular SciencesUniversity of New South WalesSydneyAustralia

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