The art of adapting to extreme environments: The model system Pseudoalteromonas

Publication date: Available online 4 April 2019Source: Physics of Life ReviewsAuthor(s): Ermenegilda Parrilli, Pietro Tedesco, Marco Fondi, Maria Luisa Tutino, Angelina Lo Giudice, Donatella de Pascale, Renato FaniAbstractExtremophilic microbes have adapted to thrive in ecological niches characterized by harsh chemical/physical conditions such as, for example, very low/high temperature. Living organisms inhabiting these environments have developed peculiar mechanisms to cope with extreme conditions, in such a way that they mark the chemical-physical boundaries of life on Earth. Studying such mechanisms is stimulating from a basic research viewpoint and because of biotechnological applications.Pseudoalteromonas species are a group of marine gamma-proteobacteria frequently isolated from a range of extreme environments, including cold habitats and deep-sea sediments. Since deep-sea floors constitute almost 60% of the Earth's surface and cold temperatures represent the most common of the extreme conditions, the genus Pseudoalteromonas can be considered one of the most important model systems for studying microbial adaptation. Particularly, among all Pseudoalteromonas representatives, P. haloplanktis TAC125 has recently gained a central role. This bacterium was isolated from seawater sampled along the Antarctic ice-shell and is considered one of the model organisms of cold-adapted bacteria. It is capable of thriving in a wide temperature range and it has been suggested as an alter...
Source: Physics of Life Reviews - Category: Physics Source Type: research