Progress in research on the adaptability of microorganisms to extremely cold environments

Abstract:

Psychrophilic microorganisms are a major life form in cold environments of the Earth and drive critical global biogeochemical cycles. The survival strategies of these microorganisms have demonstrated great potential in overcoming the extreme environmental factors. Deciphering their adaptation and evolutionary mechanisms will improve our understanding of the interaction between microorganisms and the environment and facilitate the effective use of microbial resources from extreme environments. With the rapid development of molecular biology and genome sequencing in recent years, researchers have made great breakthroughs in research on the adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms to cold environments and application of these psychrophiles in climate change prediction, industry, and agriculture. In this review, we summarize the progress of research on microbial adaptation to cold environment in terms of genomic GC content, protein stability, transcriptional and translational regulation, cell membrane fluidity, osmotic pressure regulation, oxidation resistance, and genome adaptive evolution.