Genomic analysis of the permafrost isolate Psychrobacter arcticus 273-4 has revealed that a variety of adaptations are employed to enable active growth at subzero temperatures. Many of these low-temperature adaptations are largely similar to adaptations found in other psychrophilic microorganisms isolated from other low-temperature environments and include: changes in amino acid abundance that favor protein mobility; RNA and protein chaperones; and desaturation of membrane lipids. Unlike other psychrophiles, P. arcticus 273-4 constitutively expressed the major cold shock protein (cspA, an RNA chaperone); employed several pairs of isozymes (homologous enzymes with different temperature optima); regulated cell wall elasticity as temperatures decreased; and utilized resources efficiently. These unique low-temperature adaptations may be advantageous in permafrost, where subzero temperatures reign.
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Bakermans, C., Bergholz, P.W., Ayala-del-Río, H., Tiedje, J. (2009). Genomic Insights into Cold Adaptation of Permafrost Bacteria. In: Margesin, R. (eds) Permafrost Soils. Soil Biology, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69371-0_11
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