Thermal Diversity of Bacteria and Their Secrets to Cold Survival
Keywords:
Bacteria, Cold adaptation, Cold shock proteins, Extremophiles, GC content, Lipid membrane compositionAbstract
Temperature is a critical physical factor influencing the survival, growth, and metabolic activity of organisms on Earth. Changes in temperature alter molecular kinetic energy, thereby affecting chemical reaction rates and essential cellular processes. While most organisms exhibit optimal growth within a narrow temperature range, many bacteria display remarkable adaptability across diverse thermal conditions. Exposure to sudden decreases in ambient temperature triggers cold shock responses that enable bacterial adaptation to new growth conditions. Previous studies have shown that bacteria share common cold-adaptation strategies, including the upregulation of cold stress genes encoding proteins that facilitate translation by preventing the formation of inhibitory mRNA secondary structures. In addition, bacteria modify the lipid composition of their cell membranes by adjusting fatty acid chain length, saturation, and cis–trans configuration to maintain membrane fluidity under cold stress. Genomic GC content has also been implicated in thermal adaptation, as it influences DNA stability and growth capacity at different temperatures. Importantly, psychrophilic and psychrotolerant bacteria produce cold-active enzymes that remain functional at low temperatures. This review highlights current knowledge on bacterial cold adaptation mechanisms and discusses future research opportunities enabled by advanced multi-omics technologies.
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