Most scientists in the middle of the twentieth century would probably not have believed that life was possible at extreme values of environmental factors, such as pH values close to 0 (e. g. sulfurous environments) or to 14 (e. g. soda lakes), sali- ties of 6 M NaCl (e. g. Dead Sea), hydrostatic pressures approaching 0. 1 MPa (deep sea) and temperatures exceeding 100°C (thermal vents or hot springs) or as low as 20°C (e. g. polar regions). Of the current studies on extremophiles, approximately 30,000 articles by the year 2007, almost two-thirds have been performed on org- isms adapted to outstanding temperatures, but much more attention has been paid to thermophiles than to psychrophiles. However, over the past 10 years, scientific publications on cold-adapted microorganisms have increased by a factor of ten. If one considers the extent of cold habitats, psychrophiles, i. e. cold-loving organisms, should largely lead in this comparison with thermophiles because a great proportion of the Earths biosphere never reaches temperatures above 5°C. Nearly three-quarters of the Earth is covered by oceans whose deep water masses, irrespective of latitude, are constantly between 2 and 4°C. The large continent of Antarctica also provides a permanently cold terrestrial environment as well as an aquatic niche in the surrounding ice that melts during the summer. Other examples of cold habitats are permafrost soils, high alpine soils, cold deserts, cold caves, marine sediments, snow, glacier and sea ice.

Boundary Conditions for Microbial Life at Low Temperatures.- The Climate of Snow and Ice as Boundary Condition for Microbial Life.- Limits for Microbial Life at Subzero Temperatures.- Microbial Diversity in Cold Ecosystems.- Bacteria in Snow and Glacier Ice.- Bacteria in Subglacial Environments.- Bacteria in the Deep Sea: Psychropiezophiles.- Bacteria in Permafrost.- Anaerobic Bacteria and Archaea in Cold Ecosystems.- Cyanobacteria in Cold Ecosystems.- Fungi in Cold Ecosystems.- Cold-Active Viruses.- Molecular Adaptations to Cold Habitats.- Membrane Components and Cold Sensing.- Cold-Shock Proteins.- Fundamentals of Cold-Adapted Enzymes.- Cryoprotectants and Ice-Binding Proteins.- The Role of Exopolymers in Microbial Adaptation to Sea Ice.- Genomic Analysis of Psychrophilic Prokaryotes.- Microalgae in Polar Regions: Linking Functional Genomics and Physiology with Environmental Conditions.- Metagenomics: Microbial Community Genomes Revealed.- Proteomic Studies of Psychrophilic Microorganisms.- Biotechnological Aspects.- Biotechnological Aspects of Cold-Adapted Enzymes.- Heterologous Protein Expression in Psychrophilic Hosts.- Cold-Adapted Fungi as a Source for Valuable Metabolites.- Natural and Stimulated Biodegradation of Petroleum in Cold Marine Environments.- Microbial Adaptation to Boreal Saturated Subsurface: Implications in Bioremediation of Polychlorophenols.- Biological Iron Oxidation and Sulfate Reduction in the Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage at Low Temperatures.