Representing the latest knowledge of the ecology and the physiology of cold-adapted microorganisms, plants and animals, this book explains the mechanisms of cold-adaptation on the enzymatic and molecular level, including results from the first crystal structures of enzymes of cold-adapted organisms.

Ecology and Physiology. Cold-Adapted Microorganisms. Microbial Life in Permanently Cold Soils; Lake Ice Microbial Communities in Alpine and Antarctic Lakes; Physiology of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms. Cold-Adapted Plants. Ecological Aspects of Cold-Adapted Plants With a Special Emphasis on Environmental Control of Cold Hardening and Dehardening; Plant Responses to Low Temperature: Signaling Pathways Involved in Plant Acclimation; Ice Nucleation and Deep Supercooling in Plants: New Insights Using Infrared Thermography: Modeling Sequential Responses of Plant Cells to Freezing and Thawing. Cold-Adapted Animals. Cold Adaptations in Terrestrial Invertebrates; Nival Invertebrate Animals in the East Alps: A Faunistic Overview; High Alpine Streams: Cold Habitats for Insect Larvae; Ecophysiological and Morphological Features of Glaciar-Dwelling Collembola; Ecological Features of Antarctic Fishes; Structure and Function of Hemoglobins From Antarctic Organisms: The Search For Correlations With Adaptive Evolution.- Enzymology. Cold Enzymes: A Hot Topic. Psychrophilic Enzymes: Insights Into Cold Adaptation and Catalysis From the First High Resolution Crystal Structures. Temperature Adaptation in Enzymes of Antarctic Fishes. Aspartate Aminotransferase From Moraxella TAC125: An Unusual Psychrophilic Enzyme.- Molecular Biology. Genes and Enzymes Involved in Argininge and Pyrimidine Biosynthesis in Psychrophilic Vibrio Strains From the Deep Sea. Plasmids From Antarctic Bacteria. Molecular Responses in Cold-Adapted Plants. Gene Expression and Cold Hardiness in Animals.-