Molecular and biophysical aspects of adaptation of life to temperatures below the freezing point

This review examines adaptation of life to temperatures below ?2°C, from a biophysical point of view and relative to the properties of water. Different metabolic processes have different lowest temperatures. The lowest established temperature for photosynthesis and growth seems to be about ?17°C. The review discusses membrane lipids from Antarctic microbial systems, and the limits to longevity of life in the cold, with coverage of permafrost microbial systems. It is directed towards readers of many backgrounds and supplements an earlier survey (L. Finegold, Adv. Space Res. 6, 257–264, 1986).