Psychrophilic microorganisms as important source for biotechnological processes

Abstract

Most environments on Earth are cold, and microorganisms are found in the polar and alpine regions, oceans, cold lakes, caves, permafrost, snow, glaciers, and some man-made environments of low temperature. Representatives of Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya can be divided into psychrophiles, which are living only at low temperatures, and psychrotolerants, which can live at normal and also at low temperatures. Those that inhabit permanently cold environments possess cellular properties and mechanisms that are optimally adapted for growth at low temperatures. Such strains are of interest for biotechnological industries, for medicine, for environmental protection, and for waste treatment, having wide and still underused applications for human activities. This chapter reviews the isolation, ecology, cold adaptation, genetics, and practical applications of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant strains.