Polar Microbiology: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Pabulo Rampelotto

doi:10.3390/biology3010081

Abstract

Polar microbiology is a thriving branch of science with the potential to provide new insights into a wide range of basic and applied issues in biology. In this context, it is timely to review and highlight the progress so far and discuss exciting future perspectives. In this special issue, some of the leaders in the field have described their work, ideas and findings in a collection of reviews and original research articles with studies ranging from one of the oldest permafrost areas on Earth, located in Siberia, to the accretion ice of Lake Vostok, located in Antarctica. Altogether, these articles provide a comprehensive and reliable source of information on the current advances and future perspectives in this exciting field of research. In this Editorial, I present a brief overview on the theme [...]

Highlights

Most of the Earth’s biosphere is cold (85% is permanently exposed to temperatures below 5 °C), with 14% being polar
Polar regions are areas of the globe surrounding the poles. They are different in that the Arctic is a frozen ocean surrounded by continental landmasses and open oceans, whereas
The Arctic has numerous definitions; the most used defines it as the region north of the Arctic Circle (66.5° north latitude), including the Arctic

Summary

Introduction

Most of the Earth’s biosphere is cold (85% is permanently exposed to temperatures below 5 °C), with 14% being polar. Polar regions possess unusual microbiotopes such as the porous rocks in Antarctic Dry Valleys hosting microbial communities that survive at −60 °C, the liquid brine veins between sea ice crystals harbor metabolically active microorganisms at −20 °C, and permafrost cryopegs, i.e., salty water pockets that have remained liquid at −10 °C for about 100,000 years.

Results

Conclusion