The Climate of Snow and Ice as Boundary Condition for Microbial Life -- Limits for Microbial Life at Subzero Temperatures -- Aeromicrobiology -- Microbial Life in Supraglacial Environments -- Microbiology of Subglacial Environments -- Viruses in Glacial Environments -- Microbial Life in the Deep Sea: Psychropiezophiles -- Microbial Life in Permafrost -- Cyanobacteria in Polar and Alpine Ecosystems -- Enzyme Catalysis in Psychrophiles -- Cryoprotectants and Ice-Binding Proteins -- The Role of Exopolysaccharides in Microbial Adaptation to Cold Habitats -- Molecular Structure of Lipopolysaccharides of Cold-Adapted Bacteria -- Polar Microalgae: Functional Genomics, Physiology and the Environment -- Genomics of Psychrophilic Bacteria and Archaea -- Metagenomic Analysis of Low Temperature Environments -- Proteomic Insights of Psychrophiles -- From Transcriptomes to Metatranscriptomes: Cold Adaptation and Active Metabolisms of Psychrophiles from Cold Environments -- Biotechnological Aspects of Cold-Active Enzymes -- Biotechnological Improvements of Cold-Adapted Enzymes: Commercialization via an Integrated Approach -- Heterologous Protein Expression in Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 -- Psychrophiles as a Source of Novel Antimicrobials -- Permafrost Bacteria in Biotechnology: Biomedical Applications -- Cold-Adapted Basidiomycetous Yeasts as a Source of Biochemicals -- Perspectives of Low-Temperature Biomass Production of Polar Microalgae and Biotechnology Expansion Into High Latitudes -- Nitrification at Low Temperature for Purification of Used Water -- Biodegradation of Petroleum Oil in Cold Marine Environments -- Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Spills in Cold Terrestrial Environments -- Rhizoremediation in Cold Climates.

This completely updated and revised second edition presents the most recent developments and advances in the field of microbial life in the cold, as well as the latest insights into the psychrophilic lifestyle. It particularly focuses on the exploitation of psychrophiles as a source of cold-active enzymes and biopolymers, and their benefits in the fields of biomedicine and bioremediation. Written by leading international experts, the book is intended for microbiologists, ecologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, environmental scientists and biotechnologists in academia and industry.