Editorial
Volume 2 Issue 2 - February 2017
DOI: 10.19080/AIBM.2017.02.555584
Adv Biotech & Micro
Copyright © All rights are reserved by Ajar Nath Yadav
Extreme Cold Environments: A Suitable Niche for
Selection of Novel Psychrotrophic Microbes for
Biotechnological Applications
Ajar Nath Yadav
1
*, Priyanka Verma
2
, Vinod Kumar
1
, Shashwati Ghosh Sachan
3
and Anil Kumar Saxena
4
1
Department of Biotechnology, Eternal University, India
2
Department of Microbiology, Eternal University, India
3
Department of Bio-Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, India
4
ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, India
Submission: January 27, 2017; Published: February 06, 2017
*Corresponding author: Ajar Nath Yadav, Assistant professor, Department of Biotechnology, Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University,
India, Tel: ; Email:
Editorial
The microbiomes of cold environments are of particular
importance in global ecology since the majority of terrestrial
and aquatic ecosystems of our planet are permanently or
seasonally submitted to cold temperatures. Earth is primarily a
cold, marine planet with 90% of the ocean’s waters being at 5°C
or lower. Permafrost soils, glaciers, polar sea ice, and snow cover
make up 20% of the Earth’s surface environments. Microbial
communities under cold habitats have been undergone the
physiological adaptations to low temperature and chemical
stress. Recently, these communities have attained the focus
of applied research not only in terms of biotechnological
prospects but also to understand the use of primitive analogues
of biomolecules existed during early Earth environments [1,2].
The microbiomes of cold environments have been extensively
investigated in the past few years with a focus on culture
dependent and culture-independent techniques. Cold-adapted
microorganisms have been reported from Antarctic sub-glacial,
permanently ice-covered lakes, cloud droplets, ice cap cores
from considerable depth, snow and ice glaciers [3-6]. Many novel
microbes have been sort out from cold environments including
Halobacterium lacusprofundi [7], Sphingobacterium antarcticus
[8], Octadecabacter arcticus [9], Hymenobacter roseosalivarius
[10], Cellulophaga algicola [11], Flavobacterium frigidarium
[12], Oleispira antarctica [13], Flavobacterium psychrolimnae
[14], Psychromonas ingrahamii [15], Exiguobacterium soli [16],
Pseudomonas extremaustralis [17], Cryobacterium roopkundense
[18], Sphingomonas glacialis [19], Pedobacter arcticus
[20], Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum [21], Lacinutrix
jangbogonensis [22], Massilia eurypsychrophila [23], Glaciimonas
frigoris [24] and Psychrobacter pocilloporae [25]. There are
several reports on whole genome sequences of novel and
potential psychrotrophic microbes [26,27].
The novel species of psychrotrophic microbes have been
isolated worldwide and reported from different domain
archaea, bacteria and fungi which included members of phylum
Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Basidiomycota,
Firmicutes and Euryarchaeota [7-25]. Along with novel species
of psychrotrophic microbes, some microbial species including
Arthrobacter nicotianae, Brevundimonas terrae, Paenibacillus
tylopili and Pseudomonas cedrina have been reported first time
from cold deserts of NW Himalayas and exhibited multifunctional
plant growth promoting (PGP) attributes at low temperatures [5].
In a study by Yadav et al. [6], the microbial species Alishewanella
sp., Aurantimonas altamirensis, Bacillus baekryungensis, B.
marisflavi, Desemzia incerta, Paenibacillus xylanexedens,
Pontibacillus sp., Providencia sp., P. frederiksbergensis, Sinobaca
beijingensis and Vibrio metschnikovii have been reported first
time from high altitude and low temperature environments of
Indian Himalayas. Wheat associated psychrotrophic bacteria
Arthrobacter methylotrophus and Pseudomonas rhodesiae have
been reported first time from wheat growing in North hills zone
of India [28]. In a specific search of economically important
Bacillus and Bacillus derived genera (BBDG) at low temperature,
Various BBDG such as Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus, B.
amyloliquefaciens, B. altitudinis, B. Muralis, Paenibacillus tylopili,
P. pabuli, P. terrae and P. lautus with efficient PGP attributes have
been reported first time by Yadav et al. [29].
Prospecting the cold habitats has led to the isolation of a
great diversity of psychrotrophic microbiomes. The bacterial
Adv Biotech & Micro 2(2): AIBM.MS.ID.555584 (2017) 0046