Abstract
Psychrophilic organisms possess several adaptive strategies which allow them to sustain life at low temperatures between −20 to 20 °C. Studies on Antarctic psychrophiles are interesting due to the multiple stressors that exist on the permanently cold continent. These organisms produce, among other peculiarities, cold-active enzymes which not only have tremendous biotechnological potential but are valuable models for fundamental research into protein structure and function. Recent innovations in omics technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics have contributed a remarkable perspective of the molecular basis underpinning the mechanisms of cold adaptation. This review critically discusses similar and different strategies of cold adaptation in the obligate psychrophilic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 at the molecular (genome structure, proteins and enzymes, gene expression) and physiological (antifreeze proteins, membrane fluidity, stress-related proteins) levels. Our extensive studies on G. antarctica have revealed significant insights towards the innate capacity of- and the adaptation strategies employed by this psychrophilic yeast for life in the persistent cold. Furthermore, several cold-active enzymes and proteins with biotechnological potential are also discussed.
Highlights
Over 70% of the Earth’s biosphere are persistently cold environments, which comprises the glaciers, frozen soils, deep ocean and polar sea ice
It is postulated that with the presence of a longer loop between nucleic acid binding domains in the G. antarctica cold shock protein compared to its mesophilic counterparts, the flexibility of the protein structure is efficiently modulated while retaining its structural stability [50]
These findings show that, like other psychrophiles, G. antarctica proteins have evolved a range of structural features that leads to increase flexibility to account for higher catalytic efficiency at the expanse of structural and thermal stability
Summary
Over 70% of the Earth’s biosphere are persistently cold environments, which comprises the glaciers, frozen soils, deep ocean and polar sea ice. Antarctica is the only continent that is continually blanketed in ice sheets and contains 80% of the earth’s glacier ice. About 15% of the continent is covered by sea ice, which constitutes an important habitat for organisms in the region. Its innate adaptive capacity to cope with life in the persistent cold and the associated stresses that accompany such a lifestyle positions it as a potential model organism not just representing psychrophilic yeast populations and other microbial lifeforms in the Antarctic cryosphere. A number of cold-active enzymes/proteins with high potential in biotechnological industries and the prospect of using this yeast as a biomarker to anticipate the biological fate of Antarctic marine biomes under future climate change scenarios will be highlighted
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