Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG), Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
EMBO Rep. 2014 May;15(5):508-17. doi: 10.1002/embr.201338170. Epub 2014 Mar 26.
Much of the Earth's surface, both marine and terrestrial, is either periodically or permanently cold. Although habitats that are largely or continuously frozen are generally considered to be inhospitable to life, psychrophilic organisms have managed to survive in these environments. This is attributed to their innate adaptive capacity to cope with cold and its associated stresses. Here, we review the various environmental, physiological and molecular adaptations that psychrophilic microorganisms use to thrive under adverse conditions. We also discuss the impact of modern "omic" technologies in developing an improved understanding of these adaptations, highlighting recent work in this growing field.
地球表面的大部分地区，无论是海洋还是陆地，要么周期性地寒冷，要么永久性地寒冷。尽管那些大部分或持续冻结的栖息地通常被认为对生命不友好，但嗜冷生物已经设法在这些环境中生存下来。这归因于它们先天的适应能力，可以应对寒冷及其相关压力。在这里，我们回顾了嗜冷微生物在恶劣条件下茁壮成长所利用的各种环境、生理和分子适应。我们还讨论了现代“组学”技术在提高对这些适应的理解方面的作用，突出了这个不断发展的领域的最新工作。
